A Ghost Of A Girl Who Doesn't Seem To Exist
by LordLexie
Summary: Sequel to Trouble Maker With The Orange Eye's Brief summary on first page
1. Summary

Three years ago my sister Alexis Mustang was put in prison, a week later she escaped from prison, became a wanted criminal and disappeared, now everyone thinks she's dead simply because no one has seen from her or heard from her for three whole years. I don't believe that, dead girls don't leave a trail of bodies behind them, my sister is alive and I believe theres more to this then killing nobody's and working for drug lords. Im not giving up until I find her and know why she's doing this. One person managed to change her, so what made her shove that back in his face, in all our faces?


	2. Author's note

Hi my friendly followers, I'm having a few days break from saving animals lives… Kind of, I'm not fully there yet but hopefully in a few months I will be. But to why I am writing this, I feel terribly bad that I told everyone I was going to post this story in September. I lied. It turns out my course actually doesn't finish till October, how terrible am I? Very.

I didn't even know when I was finishing my studies but I guess I was so wrapped up in the stress of it I didn't take much notice of the finishing date. So I am up to my ears in case studies and learning to do all sorts of things for sick and injured animals but that hasn't stopped me from writing my story. Hopefully by the time I post the first chapter I would have finished the entire thing and hopefully by then I can get the ending right, I am not satisfied with my ending but besides the point.

But because I'm actually going to put up the first chapter a month later then expected I'm giving you the prologue now, yes its short but it will give you a bit of a preview to what you're in for. I hope you do enjoy it. If not well thats your problem not mine and you're clearly in the wrong place but if you do then I'm glad.

On a side note thats not important but must be said, I went on a FMA shopping spree after passing many exams with 100%. I bought the warmest blanket which has come in handy for my early 5 am mornings when I need something warm to walk around in making my breakfast, the blanket is amazing. Its a blanket version of Ed's coat, its not overly big but big enough for me to wrap my tiny body in when its a cold morning and I still gotta get my lazy ass out of bed.

Then I bought one of the light novels of FMA, I feel like a bit of an idiot for not even realising this but its actually a book not a manga. Me being a FMA fan I saw the title and I was like oohh yes more FMA. Turns out its actually not written by the same artist as FMA, its like a fanfic that the original author approved of and I enjoyed the book as well so it was a good buy.

Then there are the two books called The Art Of Fullmetal Alchemist. BEST THING I HAVE EVER BOUGHT (besides from my mac laptop and Lord Of The Rings Ring) they are two books full of art with author comments. If you like art and you like FMA then this is the thing to buy. My friend was not impressed with the 800 or more snapchats I sent of every page that she had to go through in one sitting. But thats what its like to be my friend.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed my rambling but now I must be off to practice intubating a dog, I ensure that often posting will continue in early October even later September if lucky! (Any questions feel free to PM me)

Lord Lexie


	3. Prologue

Lexie POV

The sirens were ear piercing and I wasn't even in central prison anymore, no one had a clue who had escaped or how so I had a few hours before they knew it was me they were looking for. I had picked the perfect night for my escape, it was dark and clouds scattered the sky blocking the moon light making the shadows even darker.

As I walked through the back alley's I stripped down taking off my prison jump suit leaving it on the ground behind me and tying my hair up, there was a dumpster up ahead. When I reached it there was my bag sitting behind it with all my stuff as planned. The sirens kept most people inside or others on the streets intrigued to what it meant, no one had escaped from Central prison so this was going to be big and I needed to get off the streets ASAP.

The dark alley gave me enough coverage to get dressed without being noticed, I pulled my jacket on and went through the weapons that were in the bag. Three knives and one gun with one bullet, I was going to have to make this count until I could get my hands on more. I hid the daggers on myself under my clothes, loaded my gun and put the bag in the dumpster. I stepped out of the alley with my hood over my head and looking for any sign of the military but nothing, they still hadn't figured out who had got away and they weren't going to catch me, I knew that for a fact.

I walked the deserted streets keeping to the shadows and looking over my shoulder getting slightly paranoid, I saw a few people walking the streets wanting to know what the sirens meant. I turned the corner to see a blue uniformed officer trying to convince people to go back inside, I stepped back behind the wall listening.

"You need to stay in doors, lock your doors and stay in until it's safe" the blonde officer said, they were acting as if I was some murderer on a rampage with a gun... Okay I was classified as a murderer and I was holding a gun but I had no intention to kill anyone... That wasn't true either, I'd only kill if it was necessary not that that sounded any better.

"What's happening?" Asked the women the officer was trying to convince to go back inside. "You can't expect us to just lock our doors and not ask why" I glanced around the corner.

"I don't know the details yet so please just stay inside, there is a suspected criminal out on the street" I rolled my eyes, I was not the worst person on the street right now. There were worse than me out here and my sentence was exaggerated to make me sound worse than what I was. I turned back around heading away from the officer. My face was still highly known from the papers and I didn't need anyone recognising me yet.

A couple of streets over and I had no trouble getting to the place I needed, a bar owned by the one man who could help in this situation. I put the gun in the back of my pants putting it away and walked towards the two men guarding the entrance, they watched me as I approached with my hood on my head.

"What'd you want?" Asked one of the men, I pulled my hood off and I know they recognised me straight away.

"Is he here?" I asked, they both smiled.

"What if he is?" the stocky short one asked, "I doubt he'd want anything to do with you and I'm assuming those sirens are because of you?" I crossed my arms.

"So he is here?" they both shrugged at me, I pulled out my gun and shoved it into the mouth of the short stocky guy and the other one put his gun to my head. "We can either make this easy or hard" I said to both of them, "any minute now the military will be crawling around looking for me and if they catch me here, with you, ill tell them I was conspiring with you" the one with my gun in his mouth gulped glancing at the other one. He pulled the gun from my head.

"Fine, ill go let him know you're here" he walked in and i pulled my gun out of the others mouth, he composed him self and holding onto his gun just in case I decided to stick the barrel of my gun in his mouth again.

"So how'd you do it?" he asked, "escape Central Prison?" I smiled at him.

"I'll let you decide how I did it" leaving it as a mystery would make them less likely to want to cross someone who could do something everyone believed was impossible. The more they thought about it the more complex the story would become in their head, I needed these people to fear me or id be nothing but a child to them and if I wanted to go back to this life then being seen as a child was my disadvantage.

"No fucking way" out stepped a large man with dark brown hair and stubble around his face, "what are you doing here you brat?" I stared up at Duke. The man who had taught me every dirty trick I knew... Victor Sinclair's guard dog.

"Im here to see your master" I said with a straight face, Duke looked up at the sky, listening.

"You caused that siren?" he asked, I nodded. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bar, "Now you'll have the military crawling around on high alert, good fucking one Alexis" the bar was full of high socialite's… actually it was full of high socialite men with half naked women dancing around them.

"Your two guards out there are a bit pathetic" I said to Duke, "when did Victor start hiring losers?" Duke laughed.

"He hired you once, I don't see the difference" I rolled my eyes at him, he dragged me up into one of the back rooms. He pushed me through the red velvet curtain as two women left, inside sat two guards on the opposite side of Victor while he sat there puffing on a cigar.

"She fucking did escape!" the one on his left exclaimed in laughter, he had a hand full of dirty money bills in his hands and threw them at me. "I never thought you'd be smart enough to escape that black hole" the paper hit my shoulder and scattered around me, Victor glanced at his guard.

"Quiet" he said to his guard.

"Yes sir" the guard said softly and looking down to the ground, Victor looked up at me.

"What do you want?" he asked me, he took a puff on his cigar. "Come to beg me to take you back?" he asked blowing the smoke in my face, I pushed all my pride a side.

"Yes" I said staring into his deep blue eyes, they were one of the scariest things I had ever looked into. "I was betrayed and now I've come to you to say I'm sorry and that I want to help you" Victor leaned back in his seat and chuckled.

"And what are you going to help me with?" he asked.

"Take down the military, I can help you destroy it" his smirk increased.

"Even if you could, I don't need any extra dogs working for me, he already replaced you" Victor said nodding at the guy on his left. I knew what he was doing, he was testing me. I pulled out my gun, pointed it at the guys head and pulled the trigger before he could react. The guy hit the ground and blood pooled around him, no one around me flinched. That better have been worth it, that was my only bullet.

"Now will you take me back?" I asked, Victor looked down at the dead body at his feet still smirking, he glanced up at me again and raised his eyebrows.

"Do it" Duke snarled from behind me and prodding my shoulder with his finger, I put my gun away and sunk down to my knees. I could feel the blood soak through my pants as it ran across the floor pooling out of the guys head, I put my head down.

"Please take me back" this was the most humiliating thing I had ever done in my life, "I will do anything for you, I will live for you and kill for you, I am yours and yours alone" I looked up at Victor and he was watching me amused, I could hear Duke chuckling to himself behind me. "Will you take me back?" I asked, Victor gestured for me to stand back up and I did, ignoring the wet patches of blood on my knees.

"Well now I've got an opening, so I do need someone of your skill" he looked me up and down, "ill take you back but" he stood up and stood over me. "Betray me and you will meet an unsightly death, got it?" I nodded.

"Understood" I said showing no fear, Victor put his finger under my chin and he lifted my head up towards him.

"Welcome back Alexis" he whispered with a devilish smile, I gulped ever so slightly. "You belong to me again, I've missed you ever so much" he put his lips to my ear, "my little killer" a shiver ran through my body making me tense in fear.


	4. Chapter 1

**_Chapter one_**

 _3 years later_

 **Danny's POV**

Who knew I could actually fit into Roy's old military uniform, sure it might be slightly big but I'm only sixteen and nearly as tall as him and lets not forget my raging muscles… Okay so that's a lie but a boy can dream. They aren't raging but they defiantly aren't small I thought letting a smirk creep onto my face.

I flexed my arm in the reflection of the window in front of me, look at that bicep move.

"Sir I'm not sure I can give you these drugs without hand written proof that Brigadier General Mustang has requested them"

I jumped composing myself like a solider. I was in Laboratory three after some Propofol which they had been using on the chimera's in this block to sedate them when they weren't behaving.

"Look I can go all the way back to central command and tell Mustang that-" I paused looking the guy up and down.

He wore a lab coat with big glasses sitting on his nose.

"Whats your name?" I asked.

"William Price" he said softly, he looked young and probably new thats why he wasn't asking questions about my age but then again this uniform did make me look older than I was. I was the master of disguises.

"Well, I can go back to Mustang and say William Price, who in fact is a doctor and not the Brigadier General, is asking for proof that you want this whatever it is" I said acting as if I had no idea what they were. I knew what they were. "And then ill get back to you on how he responds to that" I told William

William's blue eyes widened.

"Okay yes I see how inconvenient that would be" he said quickly handing me the drugs, "I'm sorry to have to be a nuisance but I was just following protocol-"

"Its fine, I understand" I said turning away, "have a nice day Mr Price" I said waving him off. I got out of there as fast as I could before anyone I might know recognised me, the amount of trouble id get into for impersonating a solider would no doubt land me in the same trouble my sister used to get into back in the day… like scrubbing graffiti off the walls of central which I did not plan to do. I was not going to take the same foot steps as my sister had.

"Did you get it bro?" Andre asked coming up beside me.

I smiled holding up the small tube of drugs.

"I told you I could" I said sticking them back into my pocket.

Felix came up the other side of me. Andre and Felix were the only two friends I seemed to be able to keep between the crazy shit my sister has done and not afraid of my high ranking uncle.

"You realise how much trouble you'd get into for doing this, right?" Felix asked.

Me and Andre looked at him with our eyebrows raised.

"Oh come on I'm just being cautious, I don't want to end up having to do community service" Felix insisted.

I waved him off.

"Seriously don't worry about it, it's not like I'm going to sell them or anything, I'm using them for an experiment" I explained.

Andre's face lit up.

"So are you going to tell us what this experiment is because I'm dying to know what it is"

I smirked at him.

"Oh come on bro you can't leave us hanging" Andre moaned at me.

"Okay if you're not going to tell us about your secret experiment then will you at least tell us what happened between you and Clyde yesterday" Clyde being our favourite bully… not really.

I smiled at them.

"I taught him a lesson, he won't go thinking he can take me by himself" I said with a hint of pride.

Andre and Felix laughed.

"That black eye was something, shame you can't do that to Tom" Tom was the other bully that could pick on all three of us at once and there was nothing we could do about it, "you know he will come after you for that" Felix added.

I waved Felix off.

"You worry too much-"

"Military scum" some low voice hissed from the alley we walked past.

I sighed pulling the blue military hat off.

"Bro do I seriously look old enough to be apart of the military?" I asked holding my hands out.

A six foot guy stepped around the corner covered in tattoos staring at me.

"Who you calling bro?" he growled at him.

My eyes widened and I turned back around.

"Not you, sorry!" I called out quickly walking away, Felix and Andre followed very quickly. Well I didn't want to get my ass kicked thanks so I think ill avoid that fight right about now, see I had muscles but not the skill to fight.

So I had been in a few fist fights for example like yesterday with Clyde but thats as far as it goes, three years ago when I came across a homunculi called Pride I had nearly peed myself. Like how the hell are you supposed to fight something that can control shadows and regenerate?!

Some people, like for example my uncle who was Roy Mustang could, even my missing sister Alexis and then you've got the Elric brothers but I was not them. I was Danny Mustang. The one with the brains not the skill to fight or save a whole country.

"Give me a second I'm going in there" I said pointing at the bar coming up on our right.

Andre and Felix sighed.

"You seriously should just give up" I ignored Andre and pulled the military jacket off rolling it up in my arms before someone in one of these alleys decided they'd bash me, it wouldn't be a first that a military officer got a beating on the street of course I actually wasn't one so I didn't really want to be mistaken for one, only when I needed something.

I walked into Central Drive's bar sitting up on one of the bar stools. Cora, one of Lexie's old friends was serving drinks. The moment the tall brunette saw me she sighed loudly.

"Stop coming in here Danny" I come in at least once a week.

"How much for a whiskey?" I asked with a cheeky smile.

Cora placed a glass of water in front of me.

"You sound like her" she growled pushing the glass over to me, I was doing it on purpose. I don't drink. "Look I haven't seen her so stop coming in here bugging me, I'm working" she turned back around and poured more drinks.

I took a sip of the water.

"How do you know I was coming in to ask if you've seen Lexie?" I asked.

Cora slid the glasses filled with alcohol down the bar. The guys who had ordered them caught their drinks.

Cora leaned down on the bar looking me in the eyes.

"Because you've been doing it for three years, look I haven't seen her and I doubt I will so maybe thats a sign you should stop" three years ago my sister, Alexis, was put in prison for a few incriminating things she had done as a young kid, we all honestly thought she was going to serve the sentence.

We all thought she had changed but she obviously couldn't stand a week in prison, a week through her sentence somehow she managed to escape a maximum prison and no one has seen or heard from her for three years. I wasn't just going to drop everything and stop looking for her, she was my sister and all I want to know is why she left me again when she promised she wasn't going to.

"Are you sure you're not covering for her?" I asked, there had been whispers in the air that people have spotted Lexie on the street but no hard proof. None that anyone seemed to believe, if she was still around she was either being hidden by someone or she seriously upped her game at hiding.

"She's a wanted criminal Danny, I'm not going to be serving any wanted criminals" Cora stood up straight running her fingers through her hair, "look Alexis could be anywhere by now, she probably left Central ages ago so you're seriously wasting your time on her, if she wanted to be found she would have been" so everyone kept telling me but I didn't believe it.

There was something that wasn't right, something was off about the sudden disappearance like for one how could one girl escape Central prison. In all history it had never happened yet here my sister had managed it, like she was good but she wasn't that good.

"She's still here, I know she is" I muttered looking down at my glass of water, "I have proof" it wasn't the greatest of proof or even slightly good. It was horrible proof but I had seen the photos of the people my sister had killed and every now and then someone very similar would pop up dead and they all had something in common. Drug lords or associates of drug lords.

My sister had once worked for the biggest drug lord in Central right now. Victor Sinclair. So somewhere in all this mess there was a connection that was screaming my sisters name at me.

"Wait, are you dressed as a military solider?" Cora asked staring down at me.

My eyes widened.

"I gotta go" I said stepping off the stool I was sitting on, "ill check in again in a week" I called out.

"She's not going to turn up Daniel!"

I waved Cora off stepping back out onto the street.

Eventually I believed she was going to, It had been three long years so my sister was bound to turn up even if it was dead in the street, at least then id know if she was dead but being in suspension not knowing was killing me. I was going to find my sister even if it killed me.

Outside Felix and Andre were waiting for me sitting down at one of the benches, I joined them.

"Any luck?" Felix asked.

I shook my head.

"Maybe you should seriously give up bro, she's probably well gone by now" Andre said.

I glared at him and he held his hands up.

"I'm telling the truth-"

"Says everyone else" I said pointing at him, "I don't need you two saying it as well, if I want to look for my sister I will and neither of you can stop me!"

They both held their hands up in defeat.

"Ishbalan scum!" Some kids called out across the road.

Andre sighed. He still got shit for being an Ishbalan.

"They seriously don't give up" he muttered under his breath, it was the group of kids who thought they were tough and loved picking on the nerds as they called us type of kids. The smart ones who weren't into fighting back.

"Why do you let them pick on you like that?" I asked pointing my finger at the kids, they watched me from across the road. "They're pathetic and need to be taught a lesson" I told them.

Both Andre and Felix sighed at me.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Felix asked, "they'd kick our ass" he stated.

I glanced over at them and they started migrating over here when they saw me pointing at them.

"Oh great one Danny" Felix muttered, "now we're going to get our ass kicked…"

The kids surrounded our table.

"So you three think you can talk shit about us just because Danny boys uncle is the Brigadier General?" one of the boys spoke up.

Andre and Felix put their heads down.

I leaned back in my seat and stared up at him. I was over being pushed around.

"Pretty much" I said nodding at them.

The boy who spoke up gritted his teeth at me.

"Danny" Andre and Felix warned me but I ignored them.

"I think you boys have outstayed your welcome" Another boy added. He bent down on the table so he could look all three of us in the eyes, "leave" he said waving us off.

I stood up and the boy leaned up standing over me.

"You deaf boy?" he asked.

Andre and Felix grabbed my arms.

"Come on Danny" they said dragging me away, "they aren't worth it and you know you're going to get yourself in trouble if you try and fight them" I hated the fact they were right.

I jerked away from them when the other boys laughed watching us walk away.

"Yeah well some things are worth it" I said picking up an empty glass bottle from the table we passed.

I turned around and threw it at and it hit one of the kids in the head.

He hit the ground knocked out, the rest of kids turned around to stare at us.

I tapped Andre and Felix.

"Guys run!" I snapped spinning on my heels. All three of us legged it down the path while the others chased us.

"You three aren't going to get away with this!"

We pushed past people trying to get away.

"Danny!" Andre and Felix snapped, so I probably shouldn't have done that.

"They pissed me off, come on the kid was asking for it!" I snapped back.

"And now we have a group of kids chasing us and wanting to kick our heads in!" Andre shouted.

"We're out number Danny!" Felix added, okay so they had a point. I might have lost my temper and acted out, a trait I seemed to have gotten from my sister but I was not as bad as her… not that that changed our situation right now, I needed to think of something fast before they got ahold of us and I earned myself a black eye like Clyde had.

"Follow my lead!" I exclaimed leaping onto one of the fruit stands, everyone got out of the way of the group of kids chasing us.

I started throwing the fruit at them and Felix and Andre joined in, the boys dodged the fruit.

"Dance you monkeys!" I shouted at them, "dance!"

We laughed at them still throwing the fruit at them, they weren't able to get close enough to stop us and no one stepped in.

It seemed they gave up, they turned around and headed back the way they came awfully quickly.

"We'll get you back for this!" They called out to us.

We all laughed at them.

"Yeah you run away!" I shouted out to them.

Andre whacked my arm making me jump.

"Aww shit bro" he muttered.

I turned around and suddenly noticed why the others gave up on us so quickly. The military had come to see what the commotion was.

I gulped.

"You should have just left it alone Danny" Felix said staring at the two officers staring up at us.

"I should have left a lot of things alone" I muttered, "don't worry ill handle this, you guys make for a run for it on three" I told them.

They both stared at me.

"Just do it" I growled at them, "one… two… three!" I leaped off the fruit stand and pulled the two officers to the ground with me letting Felix and Andre get away, I couldn't say the same for myself.

* * *

I sat in Roy's office in a lot of trouble.

"Why?" Roy asked, "It feels like I'm repeating myself, I went through this with your sister I don't want to do it with you as well" he growled.

I looked up at Roy hiding the military jacket under my shirt. I know Roy had seen it but he left it alone.

"Okay for starters I was sticking up for myself and I'm nothing like Lexie, she would have beat their ass and done a lot more damage, all I did was destroy some fruit, no one actually got hurt" I explained, "look I got caught up in the moment and I promise next time I won't get caught" I insisted.

Roy narrowed his eyes at me.

I sighed.

"Okay I promise not to do it again…"

Roy leaned back in his chair holding a folder.

"Fine but if I find out you do anything like this again I won't let you off so easily" he growled then dropped the folder on his desk in front of me, it had my writing on it and I knew what it was. "This obsession with your sister has to stop Danny" I couldn't believe he had gone through my stuff, "you've stopped going to school, you've even gotten into a few fights, you're starting to turn out like her" I didn't want to hear this.

I stood up from the chair collecting the folder off his desk.

"Im not obsessed Roy" I mumbled, "and I'm not going to turn out like her, I can hardly defend myself so I'm not going to run away and try and fend for myself like she always did, I wouldn't survive…"

Roy leaned back in his chair watching me.

"Look, I get it okay, no one expected her to go missing but she has and I've looked Daniel, I looked for a year and came up with nothing so theres nothing I can do. Even the Elric boys were looking for her but they came up with nothing, she is gone Danny and unless you have proof that those murders in that folder of yours is her, you're just searching for a ghost of a girl who really doesn't seem to exist anymore" I couldn't believe he'd just give up on her like that.

I gritted my teeth.

Just because everyone else was willing to give up didn't mean I was going to. They just didn't know how to look for her, I did, I know my sister better than anyone.

The radio in front of Fuery went off, he played around with the switches and everyone looked up to see what the commotion was.

"Sir!" Fuery spoke up to Roy.

I turned in my chair looking over at the table all his subordinates were at working.

"Colonel Armstrong has reached the victim" Fuery explained.

"Well?" Roy asked.

Fuery listened into the radio.

"Defiantly to do with the opium trade" Fuery confirmed, "he's been dead for at least a few hours, he was found in Central river, it seems he floated down stream but not very far"

Opium trade was the drug trade!

"He seems to be a smuggler from Xing"

I sat up in my chair.

"Stab wound to the neck?" I asked.

Fuery stared over at me.

"Danny" Roy warned me but I ignored him.

"Signs of torture?" I asked, "missing fingernails?"

Fuery nodded.

"It was her!" I exclaimed turning in my seat.

Roy pointed at me.

"Stop being stupid, it's not her, you stay out of this" Roy looked over at Fuery, "tell Armstrong to make a full report and bring it straight to me" Roy ordered.

Fuery nodded.

"We don't want internal affairs getting wind of this just yet" Roy muttered under his breath.

"The murder weapon was also found still in the victim" Fuery added quickly.

"Knife made out of some type of bone?" I asked quickly, "like out of a rib of an animal?"

Fuery nodded again.

"Daniel go home!" Roy snapped at me, "for gods sake it's not your sister, she's probably dead!"

I shot to my feet glaring at him.

"You don't know that!" I shouted clutching the file to my chest, "she's alive and I know it!"

I turned around and stormed out. These killings weren't often but they all followed a pattern, the similar patterns to the murders my sister was convicted for and to me thats not a coincidence.


	5. Chapter 2

_**Chapter two**_

 **Danny's POV**

I stormed out of Central Command clutching the folder in my arms, I was so angry at everyone for giving up so easily on my sister, sure she was crazy, did stupid things but she wasn't a bad person. I had seen her change, change like I never thought she would but she did, one person found it in themselves to save her and he did so why did she turn back around and shove all that in his face?

In our faces?

There was more to this story than meets the eye but no one believed me.

Everyone would rather think she's dead than out killing bad people. My sister has never killed an innocent person, she might be a killer but she had ethics but even so, it didn't give her the authority to kill them and I knew that.

"Daniel Mustang"

A hand hit my shoulder and I stumbled forward.

I turned around to be faced by Tom and Clyde. Great, just my luck.

"Nice black eye Clyde" I grunted at the chubby blonde boy.

Tom shoved my shoulder and I stumbled back.

"Yeah no thanks to you asshole" Tom snapped, Tom was his best friend. They were inseparable except for when Clyde had cornered me yesterday thinking he could take me. Thats how he got the black eye. Clyde couldn't take me but I defiantly couldn't take Tom, he was at least another foot taller than me and with both of them, this was a fight I was not going to win.

"Yeah well maybe next time he should watch what he says" I warned them.

Tom's eyes shifted to the file in my arms.

"Whats that?" he asked taking a step toward me nodding at the folder.

I took a step back.

"None of your business" I muttered looking away from him, he tried to take it from my arms but I clutched on to it.

"Oh come on you nerd" Clyde jumped in shoving me, "you got a few secrets to hide" they both spotted the name on it.

"Its about your psychopathic missing sister" Tom sneered grabbing ahold of the folder.

I jerked it back.

"Fuck you" i spat, "you know nothing about my sister-"

His fist hit my jaw and pain exploded in my face. I hit the ground dropping the folder, the photos and notes scattered along the ground.

"Oh my god Tom look at this!" Clyde exclaimed picking up one of the photos, "this dead guy still has his eyes open!" Clyde's eyes were wide and Tom snatched the photo from Clyde studying it.

"Ha what a psychopathic bitch" Tom laughed.

I quickly picked up the scattered notes before someone else saw them but Tom kicked his foot out making me drop them again.

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

I didn't want to start a fight but I was seriously going to lose it in a minute.

Tom put his foot on my chest pushing me to the ground.

"Go on Clyde, hit him back" he urged Clyde.

I sighed lying on the ground. I might as well just let him to get this over and done with but he was hesitant.

"Just hurry up" I groaned, people walking by on the streets pretended like this wasn't happening right in front of their eyes.

"Shut up!" Tom snapped kicking his foot into my nose.

I gasped clutching my face.

"You start getting mouthy with me and ill seriously beat your tiny ass" I felt the blood run down my face while he laughed. "Guess it's a shame your sister isn't around, she's the one who used to fight for you, right?" Tom had always picked on me since I was young, back when we used to live in Central one day Lexie came across him cornering me in an alley. She might have gone over board teaching him lesson, thats why he's got a crooked nose, she broke it and he's never forgotten.

"Yeah well she's not here so are you going to break my nose back?" I asked still clutching me face, I know my sister meant well but she ended up just making it worse. Even all these years later.

"Im going to make you wish you had big sister Alexis here to save your pathetic ass-"

Both Clyde and Tom were slammed up against the wall.

"He doesn't need his sister" Ed growled down at them, "how about you pick on someone your own size" he shoved little Clyde away and he staggered back not protesting.

Tom glared up at Ed.

"What like you?" Tom growled up at him.

Ed smiled.

"You could try but id advise you not to" I watched still clutching my face.

Tom jerked forward throwing his fist towards Ed but he grabbed it spinning Tom around and held his arm behind his back while his face was squished up against the brick wall.

"Want to try that again?" Ed asked.

Tom shook his head.

"Good now get out of here kid" Ed shoved him away.

Both Clyde and Tom sulked away.

I sat up collecting all the notes.

"You okay?" Ed asked holding his hand out for me, I shoved the folder in my jacket before he saw it and took his hand. Last time I had spoken about Lexie around him, he got angry.

"Yeah just a few bullies" I said wiping the blood from my face, "thanks" I added softly.

Ed ruffled my hair with a smile no doubt proud of himself.

"Might need to teach you a few tricks"

My face lit up.

"Seriously?" I asked staring up at him, "you'll teach me to fight?"

Ed frowned.

"I'll teach you how to defend yourself, not fight"

I shrugged, I swear it was like the same thing but id take the offer.

"Deal" I said then paused, "but aren't you like going back to Creta?" I asked. Ed left for Creta after giving up on looking for Lexie then came back about a year ago for like a week then disappeared again.

Ed shook his head at me.

"Nah I need a rest from that place, they're always under high alert but I got some information I needed and can put it all together here" he explained, I heard Creta was always like that. It was culturally diverse but known to be unfriendly country towards each other. "So I'm thinking of staying in Central for a while, I just got back from Resembool for maintenance on my leg" he said kicking his leg out, "I was going to stay here for a while and see if Al shows up, if not ill probably go to Xing and see if he's still there" I would love to leave the country but Roy so wouldn't let me.

"Well then you'll train me?" I asked.

Ed shrugged.

"Why not, it'll keep me busy for a while and hopefully you out of trouble"

My mouth dropped open in protest.

"I do not get into trouble" I protested pointing up at him.

Ed raised his eyebrows smiling slightly.

"Then what was that I just saved you from?" he asked.

"Shit my sister started because of her anger problems" the moment I mentioned Lexie his smiled disappeared, "but now that you're going to train me it won't matter!" I chimed quickly.

Ed nodded.

"Yeah" he muttered, I wish I could know what his thoughts of my sister was but he wouldn't talk about it not even towards Al. I saw him snap at his brother because of my sister, either he hated her or she had really hurt him.

* * *

"So has it been confirmed?" Roy asked Hawkeye, they were discussing work at like ten o'clock at night, they don't stop working and it drives me insane. I feel sorry for Hawkeye that she has to be dragged here with Roy until he was sure he was happy he had done enough work for the day.

"Yes, he's confirmed he'll be coming over in a month" supposedly Amestris wanted to make an alliance with Xing so no wars could break out between them if anything like this Xing smuggler being murdered would be dealt with civilised, now it turns out Ling is coming over in a month. I never met him probably only the homunculi who was using his body.

"Do you have to do that on the table Danny?" Roy asked.

I looked up from what I was doing.

"Actually the better question is what are you doing?" he asked, I was emptying all the gun powder out of the bullets I had in front of me.

"Inventing" I muttered.

Roy looked at me oddly.

"Where did you get the bullets and the gun from?" he asked again, "none of my stuff has gone missing" no matter how long Lexie was gone Roy would still compare me to her and be surprised how much I wasn't like her but I did have my moments.

"I found it" I admitted, "I was cleaning all the stuff out from under Lexie's bed before you turned it into a study and found a lot of interesting things" I held up the empty gun, "this including" after the second year of not hearing from Lexie, Roy wanted to throw all her stuff out. I wouldn't let him so I put everything in boxes and stored it away in my own room, it was all I had left of her and I wasn't going to get rid of anything until there was proof she was gone.

"Not surprised" Roy muttered then turned back to Hawkeye, "we'll have to organise something for when Ling comes to show we respect him with all the important officials which includes Major General Armstrong, get someone to send her a message tomorrow" he sighed.

I continued to empty the bullets then put in some Propofol and put the bullets back together. I pierced the tips of the bullets and put a hollow needle in the end but there was something missing, I was trying to create tranquilliser darts because why not. But there was still something missing.

I got up walking into the kitchen grabbing a pair of scissors.

I needed to put something on the end of the bullets to slow down the bullet.

I walked up to Roy cutting off some of his hair, he was too busy talking to Hawkeye to notice but she saw and sighed making Roy stop talking. I sat back down in my seat attaching the hair to the end of the bullet.

Roy stared at the hair and felt the back of his head.

"Daniel!" He snapped, I looked up him, "did you just cut off my hair?!"

"Oh come on uncle" I muttered at him, "its was only a little bit and it will grow back" I insisted putting the bullet in the gun.

"Watch this" I said.

I pointed the gun at the wall and fired, the kick back nearly made me smack myself in the face with the gun but the bullet landed in the wall.

Roy and Hawkeye stared at me wide eyed.

I got up and inspected the bullet, only the needle was sticking in the wall.

"Look, no mark" I pulled the bullet out from the wall and smiled.

Roy got up collecting the gun and the bullets.

"Dammit Danny!" He snapped, "you can't be seen holding this stuff" he unlocked the no Lexie cupboard in the kitchen and put it in it locking it up again.

My face dropped.

"Oh come on, I was only playing around with it" I moaned but Roy pointed at me.

"Do you want to end up like your sister?"

I shook my head.

"Good than that means no gun, they're dangerous" I rolled my eyes storming into my room, even if I had shot anyone it wouldn't have killed them, that bullet I had created was meant to knock people out, not injure them so he was freaking out for no reason.


	6. Chapter 3

_**Chapter three**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I felt the dagger up against my throat before I felt her chest against my back.

"Gotcha" she growled into my ear.

A smirk spread across my face and I leaned back against her looking at her over my shoulder.

"Look down" I said.

She looked down and my dagger was pointed towards at her gut, she stepped back dropping her knife groaning in frustration.

"Dammit!" Riley snapped at me, she was good for a fourteen year old but she has a lot to learn although she well passed me when I was her age. "What gave me away?" She asked crossing her arms at me. Since I was a wanted criminal I needed a prodigy to take my place amongst Victor Sinclair's goons.

"You smell" I said turning in my chair, "like a sewer" I stated looking her up and down. Riley's shoulder length blonde hair was sticking up in every direction and her mismatched blue and red eyes sparkled eagerly, she had smudged blood across her face.

"Thats because I was in one" she said crossing her arms at me, "the Xingese guy was hard to keep up with and I nearly lost him in the sewers but I got him leaving him in central river" she said with a smile, the smile of a maniac and it hurt me to use her like this but I had no choice. This is how it had to be.

"And?" I asked.

Riley's smile grew.

"He sung like a bird" she exclaimed, "and that mask you gave me actually worked" she said holding up the mask shaped as a hounds face, "that guy was terrified of it" she laughed.

I smiled.

"I told you it would work" I got up from my chair and pulled some clean clothes sitting on the couch out of my bag, "so what did he say exactly?" I asked.

Riley peeled her bloody and smelly clothes off, I shoved the clean ones into her arms. She turned around and headed for the bathroom not until I got the full view of the round scars dotting up her back and arms, they were old cigar burns.

"He said its been rumoured that the Xingese Emperor is going to come over here in a few weeks, something about making an alliance with Amestris" she said walking into the bathroom.

I rubbed my temples.

"Great" I growled, this is what we didn't want. The moment Xing and Amestris made an offical alliance that meant they could exchange trades which also meant drugs. The opium trade is huge in Xing and if any of that stuff got over here Victor will have more of us out on the street killing off any competition.

"Why does Victor care anyway?" Riley asked poking her head around the door with a towel wrapped around her small body, I shoved her dirty clothes into the tin bin and dropped a lighter on it burning the clothes. I opened the window letting the smoke drift out.

"You don't ask questions" I warned her, "you just get the information unless you want to get your head kicked in" I added.

Riley rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm serious Riley, I've been there, done that and trust me I'm lucky to be alive" three years ago I came back to Victor, I escaped Central prison and came crawling back, tail between my legs and practically kissing Victor's feet. I knew he'd forgive me, he had always had a soft spot for me and now three years later I had practically fought my way up to the top, of course there was one slight problem. I was a very much wanted criminal so thats where Riley comes in. When I got here she was only twelve, already brainwashed by Duke and doing small favours for Victor.

Victor said I could have her and earn his trust back, selling drugs, getting information and getting her to kill. I needed to earn his trust and Riley was my way to do it, I had spent three years training her like I had been trained. She was better than me when I was her age but her mental state was exactly like mine maybe even worse. It turns out Victor wasn't the one who had mentally destroyed her, she was like that when he came across her.

Riley's own parents used her as a human ash tray, that was the scars running along her back and arms, then after her parents decided she was too much to handle they sold her. Sold her to Victor, it was supposed to be for sex but he wasn't interest in that. He needed a new drug mule and younger the better he always thought, but she was difficult to control, the only person who managed that was me and I think that was because I related to her.

"How did you know that mask was going to freak the Xingese guy out?" Riley asked walking out of the bathroom in clean clothes and drying her messy blonde hair from her quick shower.

"When the Emperor of Xing was a prince, he had two body guards" I explained, "both wore masks to hide their identities but nothing is more terrifying when you have someone after you in a mask, trust me" I laughed slightly, "it just gives the victim a bit more of a scare."

Riley's face lit up.

"Oh my god did you meet the Emperor of Xing?" she asked.

I shrugged.

"Yeah when he was a pain in the ass prince, he came here once" I could see she was intrigued, "but that stays between us, right?"

Riley nodded.

"Like all the other stories you've told me"

I nodded at her, I trusted her with anything I told her.

"Anyway I've got to go tell Victor all this, you get some sleep" I told her.

Riley wondered over to my bed and got in under the covers.

"Yes mummy" she grumbled at me.

I kicked the bed making her look at me, I pointed at her.

"You call me that again and tomorrows training is going to make you crying like a baby" I threatened.

She poked her tongue out at me and snuggled into the bed.

I walked out of my room closing the door behind me.

Victor knew he couldn't leave me on the street when I came back so he gave me the old room I used to have and I shared it with Riley since she was my responsibility 24/7. In a way I looked after her because it kept the part me alive that loved looking after my brother, that good part of me was still here I just had to suppress it for now. Until I finished what I was set out to do.

"Ishbalan fucker" Rachel sneered slamming her shoulder into my mine, she continued walking past me.

I turned around holding my arms out.

"Oh come on Rachel" I called out, "that was nearly seven years ago, grow the fuck up or come here and say it" I tested her, "it doesn't matter if I'm fourteen, seventeen or twenty-one, I could still kick your fat fucking ass" I said with a grin on my face.

Rachel spun on her feet and stared at me from down the hall.

"Come on" I urged her. I saw Riley poke her head out from my bedroom watching the commotion between us.

"Like I would even bother" Rachel spat trying to get out of the confrontation, I might be able to control myself now but I could still beat her ass and she knew it. I actually couldn't believe she was still here working for Victor but then again she never got over Sammy.

"Not even for Sammy?" I asked putting my hands on my hip, Rachel's face went bright red with rage.

"You think you're so damn high and mighty now because Victor loves you again!" She practically screamed at me storming towards me, "yeah well I haven't forgotten who you're related to and don't forget you're the one who hid behind that state alchemist because you were scared of-"

The moment Riley saw Rachel as a threat to me she had pounced at Rachel as she passed the door and had her hanging over the railing to the first floor of Victor's mansion.

"Riley!" I snapped.

Rachel struggled against her but Riley had spread her legs with her feet, held both Rachel's wrists behind her back and had a hand full of her hair ready to push Rachel over the side.

"Get off me you stupid little brat!" Rachel screeched in horror.

"You ever call Lexie that again and ill make sure my next kill will be you" she snarled at Rachel.

I wrapped my arms around Riley and pulled her away from Rachel who shot away from the edge of the railing.

"Control your little psychopathic murderer!" Rachel snapped backing away from us.

Riley struggled in my arms.

"Come here and say that bitch!" Riley snapped.

I squeezed Riley and she gasped.

"Hasn't Victor warned you about not pissing off the unpredictable ones" I snapped back at Rachel, "remember it got Sammy killed" I added.

Rachel turned on her heels and stormed off down the stairs and out the front door, I put Riley down and pushed her up against the wall.

"God dammit girl!" I snapped down at her.

She gritted her teeth.

"Let me kill that bitch!" She growled up at me, "I can kill her for you because I know you're not going to do it" she was right, it used to be so easy for me to take a life but now it wasn't. Now I had a little girl doing it for me and it made me hate myself more.

I bent down in front of Riley putting my hands on her shoulders and making her look down at me, she was tiny but fierce. A splitting image of me.

"I need you to stop and think for a second" I said looking into her eyes, "the last person who got one of Victor's men killed was murdered very horribly" her face softened and she calmed down.

"By you" she said softly.

I nodded.

"Yes and I don't want that to happen to you" I admitted, "I don't want you to die, god every time I send you out to kill someone I'm worried you're not going to come back…" I whispered.

Riley bent down wrapping her arms around my chest snuggling up against me.

I wrapped my arms around her.

"Don't worry about me" she muttered against me, "I'm not going to die" thats what I used to tell myself, young and naive but that is what made me strong, I thought I was invincible and I had to let Riley believe that or she wasn't going to do what I needed her to. "And didn't Victor tell you not to get attached to me?" she looked at me and I smiled.

"Yeah well we can't always help who we get attached to or who we end up loving" I muttered and unfortunately Riley came along when I left all the people I loved behind, someone had to take that place when I came here and she had but I will one day make up for everything I've made her do. She's had a hard life and she deserved better.

* * *

I sat in front of Victor while he sat behind his desk, he picked the food out between his teeth with a toothpick staring at me.

"Im sorry okay but you were patience with me when I was her age so you need to have the same patiences" Rachel had gone running off to him and moaning how Riley had nearly killed her. She was being dramatic.

"Yeah and look where that got you" he growled at me, "you betrayed me, hid behind the military then they put you behind bars after you helped them" okay so he had a point.

"But I came crawling back to you, look she just got defensive because Rachel was getting all up in my face about Jack and Sammy, you would think she would have got over that but she hasn't"

Victor flicked the tooth pick onto his desk running his tongue along his teeth.

"True" he muttered, "ill let it go this once but I expect you to keep your little prodigy in line, I had enough trouble dealing with you, I'm not going to do it again."

I nodded.

"Look don't worry about Riley, she's my problem but she did bring back some information you might want to hear" I said getting his attention.

Victor leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk and sitting his chin on his hands, he waited for me to continued.

"Its rumoured that the Emperor of Xing is coming over here to make an alliance with Amestris"

Victor leaned back into his chair.

"Yes so I've heard but only rumours, I need facts Alexis" I thought he might say that, "you will get me those facts, your uncle is the Brigadier General so I want you to get me the facts, I want dates and the Emperor's schedule" that was going to be harder than it seemed.

I clenched my fists and shook my head.

"How do you expect me to do that?" I asked, "the moment Roy sees me ill be arrested and you know that, the moment anyone who knows me will come after me and unless you want the military crawling all over the streets again looking for me and anyone who's associated with me I can't go near Roy" I told him.

Victor gritted his teeth in frustration.

"What about the state alchemist you used to hide behind?" he asked, "Edward Elric?"

I rolled my eyes sighing.

"He's not a state alchemist anymore Victor, I don't even think he's in the country and he's the last person I would go to" I leaned down rubbing my head, "he'd react worse than Roy" I muttered to myself.

"I need these facts Alexis!" Victor snapped slamming his hands on the desk, "if you can't do this then you are seriously no use to me what so ever, either at least get me the date the Emperor is coming or fuck off back to the streets!"

I sat back in my chair keeping my cool.

"Okay I can probably get the date" I admitted, it was going to be risky but I had an idea.

Victor composed himself.

"Good"

I stood up to leave.

"Also I need you tonight"

I raised one eyebrow at him.

"You and Duke are coming with me to a meeting, no one will even give you a second glance but I need extra protection tonight and you two are my best" so he just admitted he did need me, "up for the job?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Sure Victor, anything for you" I said walking out of his office.


	7. Chapter 4

**_Chapter three_**

 **Lexie's POV**

This rumour of the Xing Emperor coming over was spreading fast, Victor and his employees were getting restless about it and thats what I'm sure this meeting was about.

Me and Duke stood outside guarding with four other men, they belonged to the two other guys inside the room with Victor. All six of us out here were armed and didn't say a word to each other, these meetings could turn out horribly if someone inside was pissed off and that was generally Victor. Piss him off and someones going to die.

"This is stupid" Duke muttered under his breath, "we can kill any competition that comes along."

I stared up at him in disbelief. The other four kept quiet.

"Are you mentally stupid?" I asked him.

Duke's brown eyes darted down to me.

"Do you know how much trouble that would cause?"

His upper lip twitched in anger.

"I know you love killing people but if we start leaving piles of bodies on the militaries door step they'll start crawling all over us, we've got to be smart" I told him.

Duke turned towards me.

All these years later and I was still the little kid to him, no matter how old I got he'd always look down on me then again I was competition to him now. I was the only one besides him who seemed to be able to get close to Victor, so to him I was a threat that threatened his job. I was just under him and any day now I could over throw him not that I had any want to, that was all in his head.

"Shut up you little shit" he growled at me. Duke was a great fighter, a hunter, like a blood hound but he wasn't smart at all. His IQ was probably as high as mine was when I was twelve and I can tell you I wasn't a smart twelve year old.

"Good one Duke" I laughed mockingly.

I watched the muscle in his jaw ripple. I was pushing his buttons.

"I fucking wish I got to brain wash you again when you came crawling back to us" he muttered under his breath trying to keep his cool.

I stepped in front of him and leaned up on my toes.

"You'd get off on that wouldn't you?" I snarled up at him.

Duke leaned down grinning at me. His dark eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Damn straight I would Alexis" he snarled back, he grabbed a fistful of my hair from the back of my head making sure I didn't back down, "see that frightened look on your face" he moaned at me in pleasure. "And now that you're all grown up, the fun I would have teaching you a few lessons you missed while you were gone" I didn't back down and I showed no fear what so ever.

"But you're getting a bit old now" I ran my finger along his jaw and over his stubble, "I'm noticing a few grey hairs Dukey boy" I said sweetly.

Duke glared down at me while I continued to taunt him.

"Soon ill be able to take you down with my eyes closed"

He barred his teeth at me.

"What the fuck are you two doing?!" Victor snapped standing at the door staring at us with his arms crossed.

Duke let go of me and I stepped away.

"I didn't bring you two here to play games" he growled at us, "now Alexis get in here" I walked past Victor and he shoved me inside by pushing his hand into my head.

Victor pointed at Duke.

"You watch yourself boy because that girl can destroy everything you've tried to achieve" Victor closed the door and pointed to one of the empty seats, "sit" he ordered me.

I sat down.

"Who's this?" One of the guys at the table asked, the two men were Victor's associates. Victor sat down next to me and put his hand on my head.

"You don't remember her?" he asked.

Both men shook their head.

"This my dearest friends is our little stone mule"

Both their eyes widened, these two were also in on the deal with the philosopher stones a few years back.

"Well haven't you grown up" the blonde one across from me leaned over grabbing my hand on the table, he had fat little fingers, they were hot and sweaty curling around my hand and kissed it. He shouldn't have touched me, he just signed his own death sentence, "You've defiantly quietened down, I remember you being the feisty one" he laughed.

I glanced at Victor and he nodded with a smile.

"Don't touch me" I snarled staring at him, "or ill be forced to show you what you look on the inside" I looked the fat man up and down, "and trust me none of us want to see that" the fat man laughed letting go of my hand.

Victor gritted his teeth.

"Still Feisty" laughed the other man, "she's just learnt to control her self Harry" the man laughed at the fat man Harry. "What use is she to us now Victor?" he asked looking me over then nodded to Victor.

"She can get us the information we need about the Xingese Emperor" Victor explained, "and she's going to be our assassin" my eyes widened.

"What?" I blurted looking at Victor.

"Are you deaf?" he asked me, "you're going to assassinate the Emperor of Xing" I kept my face straight but my hands started to sweat.

"Any objections?" Victor asked all of us, I couldn't do that. I couldn't kill Ling. I was willing to kill for Victor to earn his trust but there was a line I wasn't willing to cross and he was going to make me do it.

No one protested.

"Good, we will talk further when I have more information" Victor said, he turned to Harry, "you shouldn't have fucking touched her" he said pulling his gun out of his suit pocket and pointed it at Harry's head.

Harry's eyes widened.

"Oh c-come on Victor" he stammered holding his hands up, "you know I meant nothing by it…"

Victor put his finger on the trigger.

"You don't ever touch her you filthy pig, she's mine" Victor pulled the trigger and the bullet went through Harry's head and hit the wall behind him.

Victor stood up.

No one had flinched.

"Did you really have to do that?" the other guy asked over the table, "I know he's a pervert but he could have come in handy."

Victor stared at his not dead associate.

The associate held up his hands.

"Just saying" he added.

"Keep your fucking opinions to yourself James" Victor looked down at me.

"Kill Harry's dogs" he ordered me.

I stared up at him.

"Don't make me repeat myself"

The door slammed open and Duke stood at the door to make sure Victor was all right. The moment Harry's men saw him dead on the ground they held their guns up but I was already over the table palming my daggers, I forgot about everything and let my mind go blank slamming my daggers into their necks.

"Sorry boys just following orders" I growled up at them.

They dropped their guns and blood poured out of their mouthes. I pulled out my daggers and the men fell to the floor at my feet clutching their necks unable to breath chocking on their own blood.

"Lets go you two" Victor said walking past me and Duke, we followed him while I tried to keep my hands steady.

* * *

The moment I shut my bedroom door behind me I slid down it staring at my bloody hands, they shook in front of me and my heart beat increased. The images of Sammy, Jack and Chuck flashed in front of me.

"No control yourself" I whispered clutching my hands tightly. I couldn't lose control of myself, not now.

"Lexie?" Riley muttered sitting up and yawning.

"Im fine go back to sleep" I insisted taking in deep breaths, that maniac inside me was still there. She was so close to coming out but I had to control her, killing is what made her want to come out but she wasn't allowed out. If she took control then any good I had left in me would be gone, but how could I be good?

I just stabbed two guys because I was ordered to, no ethical reason why just because Victor didn't want to deal with them. I did what I was told because in reality I was terrified of Victor, he scared me more than anyone.

Riley staggered out of bed and knelt down beside me.

"Lexie?"

I shook my head and stared up at the dark ceiling.

"Its nothing" I muttered through gritted teeth.

Riley picked up my hands and noticed the blood.

"You're not hurt, are you?" she asked concerned.

I shook my head.

"It's not my bloody"

Riley pulled me to my feet and sat me on the bed.

"I do this every time" I whispered, "every time I kill someone I feel guilty" it made my stomach ache.

Riley stumbled over to the bathroom in the dark and grabbed a towel to wipe my hands.

"So you killed someone?" she asked, I didn't respond when she wiped my hands down but she didn't need to know the answer, "who cares?" she asked, "they probably weren't good people anyway" she threw the bloody towel on the ground.

"It's not that" I whispered staring at nothing, "I can't let that maniac out" I whispered, "if I turn back into her then theres no turning back, I can't go back to them and beg for forgiveness" I admitted.

Riley sat on her knees and pulled me against her, my head leant against her chest.

"Then why did you escape?" she asked me, "if you wanted all of them in your other life to still love you why did you break out of prison?"

I shook my head.

"You know I can't say" I whispered, "don't make me say it Riley, I don't want to talk about it."

Riley hugged me putting her chin on my head and sighed loudly.

"You're always avoiding things" she whispered, "okay lets talk about something different then" she murmured, "can you tell me one of your stories?" she asked, "about you and the Ishbalan?" she asked, "oh no wait what about the crazy story?" she asked making me smile.

"Which crazy one?" I asked, I knew what one she was talking about.

"About the immortal beings and the brothers" she squeezed me, "thats such an epic" she whispered.

"They weren't entirely immortal Riley" I explained, "they were homunculi and the those boys weren't just brothers, they were hero's" I said softly, "hero's to many people including me" I sighed softly.


	8. Chapter 5

_**Chapter five**_

 **Lexie's POV**

"Stop!" I shouted slamming my foot on the ground, "god you four are pathetic sometimes, if you don't work together it's going to get you into more trouble" I was training Riley and three others. The other three who were boys did not get along with Riley, I was trying to teach them team work but it wasn't going well.

Riley was rolling around on the floor beating the shit out one of the other boys while the other two stood there staring.

"Oh dear god" I sighed rubbing my head.

Someone laughed from beside me making me jump.

"Doing a good job" Callum muttered leaning up against the door.

I glanced at him.

"Is this what we were like as kids?" I asked.

A smirk spread across his face.

"This is exactly what we were like and sometimes worse, you used to beat the shit out of all of us" these four were Victor's best kids, they had a lot of potential but usually those ones don't get along, I know that from experience. So training them was always difficult and since me, Duke and Callum took turns training them they knew what they could and couldn't get away with, with who. Duke was the tough one, none of them wanted to piss him off but Callum and I were sometimes a bit soft, well thats what Duke would say.

"Can you take over?" I asked Callum, "I've got to go do a few things for Victor."

Callum nodded.

"Sure but you owe me" Callum got over everything that happened between us as kids, unlike Rachel but then again Callum was the oldest and had grown up besides from the point of still working for Victor, if anyone could have had a decent life out of us kids it was him.

"Thanks" I said leaving him with the kids.

"Riley go sit in the fucking corner before I break your nose!" Callum roared.

I heard Riley moan.

"Wheres Lexie going?" she asked, "I thought she was training us today-"

"Did I say you could ask questions?!" unfortunately in the drug trade you have to train the mules harshly, make sure they were immune to pain and wouldn't give you up, this wasn't a lifestyle any kid wanted but some didn't get a choice. When you had to survive, you had to work for it.

* * *

On a bright sunny day like this I had to be carful on the streets, I kept my hood up and stayed to the back streets, I dodged every main street and any blue uniformed officers I saw. It would take them a few seconds to recognise me now since I usually hid my most prominent features which was my eyes and my tattoos but I wasn't going to risk it. I knew everyone thought I was dead and thats exactly what I wanted everyone to think, the day I was allowed to come back I would explain myself, not expect forgiveness but at least tell them why I disappeared.

I walked into the bar with my hood still up, no one around even glanced at me. I was no one to them so I sat up at the bar and the moment Cora spotted me her eyes widened, she froze staring at me like she had just seen a ghost.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She shouted.

The whole bar went quiet.

"I told you to never come in here again!"

I opened my mouth to say something.

Cora looked around and noticed the whole bar was watching us, she pointed to the back door.

"In the back now!"

I got up quickly with my hood still over my head and disappeared into the back.

"What the fuck are you all looking at?!" Cora shouted at everyone, "get back to your drinks!" Everyone got back to their drinks and chatter while she stormed after me.

I pulled my hood off and Cora shoved my shoulders.

"The fuck are you doing here?!" She snarled at me, "didn't I tell you to stop coming here?!"

I held my hands up.

"Just hear me out for a second" I insisted.

She glared down at me putting her hands on her hips.

"Your brother comes in here once a week Alexis!" She snapped, "do you know how difficult I find it telling him that I think you're dead when you're really out on the streets again working for that monster" she turned away holding her head, "god why am I even covering for you" she growled at herself.

Danny knew I wasn't dead, he knew I wasn't that easy to kill but if he was still looking he was going to get himself in a lot of danger, I had already made sure everyone else had stopped looking but I had known Danny was still coming here.

"Cora please just trust me, i know what you think I'm doing is wrong but I need you to just trust me" she turned back around shaking her head, "you know id never want to intentionally hurt my brother-"

"Then why are you doing this Alexis?" She asked, "he's searching for any piece of you he can hold on to, everyone around him is saying you're dead, you're a murderer and yet he finds it in himself to have faith in you, how he does I will never know but this plan you have better be good or the moment he finds you you will lose him" she growled, "and he's all you've got left."

I looked down sighing.

"I promise the outcome will be better than you may think" I insisted.

Cora took a step forward exhaling calming herself down. She prodded her finger into my chest.

"Im putting my trust in you, what do you want?" she asked.

I turned around and started pacing. Old habits never die hard.

"When Danny comes back for his weekly visit, I need you to get some information out of him" Cora crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, "I know you can do it, so I'm asking you to just do this for me" I pleaded.

Cora turned around and poured two glasses of whiskey and handed one to me but I refused.

"I don't drink anymore" I added.

"All right" she sighed, "what do you want me to get out of him?" she asked.

"I need you to see what he knows about the Xing Emperor and when he's coming over here" she raised her eyebrows, "do it how ever you like as long as it's not suspicious" I said.

Cora took a sip of her drink.

"And how will I get the information back to you?" she asked, "I don't want you here again, the last thing I need is people spotting you here, that will cause trouble for the both of us."

I waved her off.

"Don't worry about that, a little girl, she's got short blonde hair and goes by the name of Riley, ill send her over every few days to see what you've got" I said still pacing.

"And how will I know its her?" she asked.

"Trust me, you'll know her when you see her" I admitted.

Cora laughed.

"Great" she muttered, "I bet another Lexie, just what Central needed…"

I looked over at Cora.

"Fine, ill see what I can do but that means you never come back here while you're a wanted criminal"

I nodded.

"Deal"

Cora pointed behind me.

"Go out the back door, the last thing we need is dad seeing you" Cora muttered.

I nodded, that might cause a few problems for us. I snuck out the back door and back out onto the back streets of Central. I was glad that I could still trust Cora even after all the shit I had put her through.

* * *

When I got back to Victor's, one of the kids in the training room was sitting on the ground holding his head up with a bloody towel soaking all the blood from his nose. He looked like a right mess, I know this was training but we weren't supposed to let the kids get brain damage, that would defeat the purpose.

"Good job Callum" I spoked up.

Callum was scrubbing the blood off the ground. He glanced at me and stood up pointing at me.

"That little savage of yours lost her shit Lexie!" Callum snapped, he had a black eye. "She's worse than you!"

I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows, looks like Riley had got angry again.

"Okay maybe not as bad as you but she's getting real close" he pointed out, "it won't be long until she does the same to one of these little shits what you did to Sammy and man we all saw that, that was hardly a mercy killing…"

I walked up to the kid with the bleeding nose.

"What did you say to her?" I asked.

The kid glared up at me while I stood over him.

"She wouldn't have attacked you unless you said something to piss her off" her mind worked exactly like mine.

"I didn't say anything" he spat up at me, "she's just a fucking psychopath like her damn master" he was referring to me.

I bent down and wrapped my hand around his neck, if this kid thought he could talk to me like this then he clearly wasn't terrified enough of me.

"Exactly so pissing me off will permanently leave you brain damaged" I snarled tightening my grip around his neck.

The kids eyes widened and he gasped slightly.

"So I suggest you stop lying to me and tell me the truth" I growled.

He gulped against my hand.

"He said something about how she'd be nothing without you but Ishbalan scum" Callum said coming up beside me and pulling my hand off the kid, "it was something along the lines of that and she lashed out but I think he got it, you don't need to be making it any worse."

I stood up jerking away from Callum.

"Where'd she go?" I asked.

He pointed out the door.

"She left, she ran off like you used to" I rubbed my head sighing, "don't worry ill make sure Victor doesn't get wind of this" Callum added.

I nodded at him.

"Thanks" I muttered walking past him, I knew exactly where she had gone. The same place I used to go to forget everything, the opium dens. I had been addicted to those places and now Riley was, she was only fourteen but I guess I was no better. At the age of sixteen when I was sent back to Roy, he had to take a whole week off work to sit in a room with me while I went through withdrawals, it had been one of the toughest things for him to watch but he did it for me and now it was my turn to do it for Riley.

It was getting dark outside now so it was easier for me to walk the streets, I felt safer keeping to the shadows until I got to the closest opium den. This is the only one that would have let Riley in, it was the same guy who used to let me in and he worked under Victor, well they all did, any major drug dealer in Amestris was either under Victor's command or in alliance with him. Victor has had many years to control the drug trade without any major dramas thanks to Bradley, he of course had a different plan for the country and didn't care what happened to it as long as there were humans in the country. So Victor built his empire, it was huge and I was only a small part of it, I was only a part of the Central side of it.

"Ah Victor said you were out working for him again" purred Harvey when he spotted me at the door, "I thought it was about time id see you around" he had a grin on his face.

I walked up to him looking across the den at passed out bodies and others smoking out of pipes and other instruments.

"Im looking for a little girl" I said looking around, "she's blonde with short hair, she's got mismatched eyes" I stated.

Harvey pointed at me.

"Oh yes, the half blood one"

I glared at him.

"Don't call her that" I snarled at him, the Amestrians still had problems with the Ishbalan race and Riley's eyes showed her Amestrian and Ishbalan blood.

Harvey held his hands up.

"She's in the back" he said nodding towards the back, "she's a great customer, pays well unlike you who I'm pretty sure owes me money still" he called out as I walked past the passed out bodies.

I spotted Riley slumped up in one of the corners half passed out with another high old man looming over her.

"Hey!" I snapped, he didn't even glance at me so I kicked him over and away from Riley, "you fucking touch her and you'll be sorry" I snarled, he held his hands up not wanting to fight and backed off.

I bent down in front of Riley.

"Oh god" I whispered, she was totally out of it, "Riley" I said holding her head up.

Her eyes were closed but she smiled, she was high.

"Hi Lex" she muttered with a giggle, "what are you doing here?" she asked.

I pulled Riley up and put her over my shoulder.

She let out another giggle.

"Getting you out of here" I grumbled turning back around, I pulled out some money out of my back pocket and shoved it into Harvey's chest. "Next time she tries to come in here you kick her out" I told him.

Harvey looked down at the money taking it but shrugged.

I pulled out my gun and shoved it in his mouth. I was not in the mood for this.

"I don't care if she throws a damn tantrum at you, you never let her in here again, got it?" I asked shoving the barrel of the gun further into his mouth.

He nodded with wide eyes.

I pulled it out and wiped his spit that was on my gun on his clothes then put it against his neck.

"You remember who I work for as well, the same man that can make you disappear so if you tell anyone I was here ill make sure you disappeared better than I did" I left it at that and left with Riley over my shoulder.

"Oh come on" Riley whined still hanging over my shoulder, "don't take my fun away, you used to go there all the time, I've heard all the stories Lexie, you're no better than me when you were my age" I ignored her pulling my hood up and took her back home.


	9. Chapter 6

_**Chapter six**_

 **Danny's POV**

"Sneak attack!" I shouted running towards Ed and leaped at him.

Ed stepped aside sighing at me when I fell to the ground gasping.

"Seriously?" he asked looking down at me, "it's not a sneak attack if you shout it out."

Ed put his hand to his head and sighed again.

"Now I see why Lexie didn't teach you anything" he muttered under his breath.

I glared up at him.

"You just don't listen" he added.

I kicked my foot out at him but he stepped back again making me miss.

"Hey!" I protested jumping to my feet, "I'm not a natural at this" I snapped defensively.

Ed crossed his arms and nodded.

"No kidding, you know how to punch you just can't land a hit on me" well he was fast, come on this is the guy who fought homunculi.

"Yeah well you're a terrible teacher" I grumbled up at him.

Ed shook his head.

"We're going to get no where if you don't listen to me" he protested.

I crossed my arms.

"I am listening" I insisted, "you're just too fast for me, remember I'm an amateur at this, you used to be a state alchemist for gods sake who I'm pretty sure defeated the thing under Central!"

Ed smiled at that.

"Thats right that was me"

I pointed at him.

"That wasn't a compliment!" I snapped, "that was me telling you you might know how to fight but you're a terrible teacher" I added with a grumble.

Ed frowned at me then paused.

"Teacher" he muttered then his face lit up, he had an idea. "Okay I've got an idea, you said Ling is coming over in a month, right?" he asked.

I nodded.

"So I bet Al will come back with him, so we've got a month until I want to be back in Central"

I raised my eyebrows at him still confused.

"I'm a bit rusty-"

"This is you rusty?" I asked shocked, god id hate to have to face him when he was at his best. I had to remind myself not to piss him off, that was a fight I did not want although I managed to survive my sister so if she could keep up with him I could have chance.

"Yes, this is me rusty" Ed admitted, "but I was thinking we should go to Dublith, to my Teacher's place, she can help both of us."

My face lit up. I was up for the challenge.

"Im so in!" I exclaimed.

Ed's face dropped suddenly.

"Although I have to warn you" he looked slightly scared, "she may kill us" that made my face drop and he nodded, "if you can survive her then I'm sure you can survive anything…"

I lifted my head high.

"Did Lexie survive her?" I asked.

Ed nodded.

"Then I'm up for it" if Lexie survived her so would I. I wanted to learn to be tough like her, I know it came with a lot of consequences but it helped her in a lot of situations.

"All right, we leave tomorrow"

I nodded.

This would give Roy a rest from me and something for me to focus on other than trying to find Lexie but first I had to check in with Cora before I leave, if she said what she usually did then I had nothing keeping me here.

* * *

Like usual I sat at the bar waiting for Cora to notice me but I saw a girl I had never seen before, the way she spoke reminded me of someone but I couldn't figure out who.

"Hey kid aren't you too young to be in here?!" Laughed one of the men at one of the tables.

The girl sighed spinning in the bar stool to stare at the man.

"Whats it to you?" she sneered at him, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the bar.

The man laughed.

"Snarky hey?" he asked.

She gritted her teeth.

"Riley don't you dare start a fight in here" Cora called out with her back turned making drinks.

Riley sighed turning back around in her seat. She looked at me when she noticed I was staring at her, she had mismatched eyes, one blue and the other red.

"What are you staring at?" she asked me.

i smiled.

Thats who she reminded me of. My sister.

"Cool eyes" I spoke up.

Riley frowned.

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked defensively.

I instantly shook my head.

"No I'm being serious" I said.

Riley smiled at me, making her face soften and I smiled back. She was quite beautiful once you got past the bad attitude, another reason why she reminded me of my sister.

Cora turned around and stared at us.

"Riley out the back now!" She snapped making both of us jump.

Riley looked at her raising her eyebrows.

"Why?" she asked unfazed.

"Because I need to talk to you so out the back now" Cora growled.

Riley rolled her eyes and slipped off the stool.

"Bye cute boy" she said smiling up at me, she walked off out the back of Cora's and I looked at Cora.

Cora shook her head.

"Don't ask" she muttered pouring a glass of water for me, "so here to see if she's come for a visit?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yep" I chimed, "anything?"

Cora leant forward on the bar.

"No Danny" she muttered, "I haven't seen your sister" I know I got my hopes up just a little bit every time I came here. I know I should expect the same answer but if Lexie came to anyone it would be Cora, Cora was apart of her old life and I know she was stuck in that life again even though everyone thought she was dead.

"I heard a rumour that the Xingese Emperor is coming over" Cora said pouring herself a drink, "thats going cause a lot of commotion around here don't you reckon?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah tell me about it" I sighed, "we've got a whole month to prepare and the military are already freaking out about it, especially with that Xing guy that was murdered last week" I muttered.

Cora took a sip of her drink and nodded.

"Yeah won't that cause problems?"

I shrugged, I just realised I should probably not talk too much about this, it wasn't entirely public yet.

I hopped off the bar stool.

"Well I better get going since you haven't seen Lexie" I paused and turned back around, "by the way I won't be checking in for a few weeks" I added.

Cora smiled.

"Good, this isn't good for you coming here all the time, seriously kid stop looking for her"

I waved her off, I wasn't going to stop no matter what.

* * *

Before I leave for Dublith tomorrow I got two new pieces of material for my Lexie folder and I wanted to see if I could get any new clues from it, I know it was wrong but it kept me at ease that my sister was still alive even if she was killing. My sister might be a murderer and a monster but she's still my sister, I knew her before she turned into that person. I might have been young and not understood much but I still remember, she was my everything when mum and dad died and I wasn't about to lose her as well.

The best place to go in afternoon was the library, hardly anyone was here and it's the only place I could go to get away from Roy and his subordinates watching my every move, instead I got peace and quiet.

I had stolen the new information from Roy, once he had processed the stuff the photos were chucked in a pile of unsolved murders and never touched again until a lead appeared, so I took them when I had the chance. They were supposedly two guards who were worked for Victor Sinclair's associate, Harry Tomkin, who was also found dead with a bullet in the head.

These things weren't unusual. Meetings gone wrong but the way the guards were killed intrigued me, knife to the throat. Most people use bullets like how Harry had been killed. Except for my sister.

Working in the drug trade each high ranking guard under each drug lord has a specific method of killing, this is what my sister had told me. Its to send warnings to others that that person killed them. For example Duke, who my sister spoke of said he liked to shoot his victims in the neck. Gives them time to see their killers faces but they can't scream out for help, sometimes it can paralyse them. I believe my sister has taken on the same method but instead of using a gun she's using knives and some instances bones, but thats the thing that has everyone puzzled, why go through all that effort carving a knife out of a rib of an animal to leave it in the victim.

"Hi again"

I jumped when Ed spoke, he sat in the seat next to me, both our eyes widened when he saw what I had in front of me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, he went to grab one of the photos but I practically jumped on the table hiding them under me.

Ed frowned down at me.

"Okay, now I am intrigued" he said staring down at me, "what are you doing Danny?" he asked again, "it can't be good if you're acting like this" now I was going to have to show him.

"Ill show you but you can't get angry" he might actually be the best person to help, I had never shown him before because I knew how he would react. Just like everyone else and get angry at me and I had honestly gotten over everyone telling me I was wrong when I was onto something.

"Okay fine" Ed said cautiously.

I got off the table and laid out the notes.

"Its about Lexie" I admitted, "I know everyone thinks she's either dead or gone but she's not…"

Ed shook his head when he picked up one of the photos.

"No I can't look at these" he muttered standing up, "I can't help you-"

"Look I get it, it's terrifying to think that the girl who broke your heart is out doing all this"

Ed's face hardened.

I wasn't stupid. My sisters trust was very hard to gain and somehow Ed had managed to gain it, I don't know what happened between them but it wasn't something simple and small.

"She didn't break-"

"She broke mine as we" I admitted, "but she's all I've got left and I'm not admitting that she's dead until I see proof, she used to say don't believe anything until you see it but if anyone can help me find her its you…"

Ed clenched his fists.

"You can't honestly believe she's gone, just sit down and listen to what I have to say and if you still want to leave then leave"

Ed sat down sighing.

"All right" he said in defeat, "ill listen but when we leave for dublith tomorrow you leave all this here."

I nodded, I think I could go for a month without it.

I spread out the old photos Lexie was accused for murdering and the ones she was in, I knew it was hard for Ed to look at them, it was hard for me as well but each photo held a clue and I was determined to figure this out.

"When Lexie was working for the drug lord she was of course killing for him" I put the photos in front of Ed, "but she had a certain way of doing it, first is the torture, she had three types" I explained. "She either pulled their fingernails off, broke their fingers and/or pulled their teeth out which would usually be a last resort" of course the teeth would always be her last choice, she needed her victim to still be able to talk.

"Then when she got what she wanted she couldn't leave them alive, they saw her face, knew who she worked for so she would have to kill them. Knife to the throat, not always the same but clean and quick so the victim couldn't scream, destroy the trachea and there is no way they'd survive" I explained.

I laid out the photos over the past three years.

"How long have you been doing this?" Ed asked.

"Two years" I admitted, "after you and everyone else gave up."

Ed went through the newer photos.

"I didn't give up" he whispered to himself, he brushed his finger over one of the photos of Lexie, "I let her go" so he didn't believe she was dead. He sat up and cleared his throat like he had forgotten for a second I was there and looked at me to continue.

"Its all the same method of torture then knife to the throat" I said pointing at the photos.

Ed thought about it.

"It's her, you can't tell me it's not"

Ed put the photos down and looked at me.

"You want my honest opinion?" he asked.

I nodded instantly. Of course I did, if anyone could help me it was Ed.

"These ones" he said putting down the ones that were ones that only had injuries to the neck, "they could honestly be anyone and these" the others that had torture, "this is a copycat, I'm sorry Danny but it's not her…"

My mouth dropped open. Just like that he had put down two years of hard work and practically teared it part with a few words.

"How?" I asked, "what makes you think that?"

Ed aligned the photos.

"For one that is a major clue is the weapon that is used" he pointed to the bone knife, "thats not Lexie's style, its too messy and she would never have the patiences to create something like that" okay so he had a point.

"But maybe she's using it to throw everyone off"

Ed shook his head.

"I doubt it, hypothetically speaking, if she's even still in Central she wouldn't need it to throw anyone off because no one is actually looking for her and she would know that but there are also other clues you over looked" Ed pointed to the old photos of Lexie, "she's impulsive but also clean, the torture she was doing is very precise like she would never skip a finger nail or tooth, that would bug her."

Ed pointed to the newer photos.

"But in this its messier, they skip finger nails and doing a quick job, you know your sister, she had to do things her way and would never change that way…"

I stared at the photos.

Ed was right, it wasn't Lexie, it had to be a copy cat.

Ed put his hand on my head.

"I'm sorry Danny" he said softly, "it's not Lex…"

I looked up at him.

"Then whats your theory?" I asked, "you can't honestly think she's dead, she's Alexis Mustang for gods sake, my sister isn't that easy to kill."

Ed nodded.

"I couldn't agree more but where ever she is she doesn't want to be found, she waited for us to come see her, for a week she was in prison and no one but Al saw her" so I wasn't the only one who hated myself for not visiting Lexie in prison, Ed felt guilty as well.

"Al told us what she said, she was devastated, she honestly thought everyone had given up on her, if only she was a little more patient but theres only so much patiences your sister has and we both out waited that patiences" he sighed.

"Sometimes I think maybe things would have been different if we went and saw her but we didn't, we let her believe that she had honestly lost everyone and now we've lost her. Im sorry Danny but Alexis could be anywhere by now and I'm not even sure she's still in central…"

Ed got up and pointed to the folder.

"But you're not too bad, I can see who got the brains in family because I can tell you Lexie didn't get them"

I smiled slightly as he left. He was probably right, she might not even be in Amestris anymore.


	10. Chapter 7

_**Chapter seven**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I bumped into Riley when she came bounding through the door, I was about to go down and see Victor, him and James wanted to talk to me, whatever they wanted probably wasn't good.

"Whoa Riley!" I exclaimed when she staggered back, "chill girl."

Riley smiled up at me.

"Guess who I saw today" she said wiggling her eyebrows at me.

I crossed my arms.

"Cora I hope" thats where I had sent her and she wasn't high so she hadn't been back to Harvey's.

"Well yes but thats not who I'm talking about"

I stared down at her.

"Your brother" she whispered.

My eyes widened and she waved her arms around.

"don't freak out though!" she added quickly, "I didn't tell him anything, I hardly spoke to him-"

"You spoke to him!" I snapped.

Riley held her arms up.

"Its fine Lexie!" She insisted, "he didn't suspect a thing, I actually didn't know he was your brother until after, Cora had stepped in before I had a chance to actually talk to him" oh thank god Cora had stepped in, I did not need Danny to meet Riley. Not yet anyway.

"He's kinda cute" Riley added with a smile up at me, that made me smile.

"Of course he is, he's my brother" I laughed, "but no more contact with him okay, I can't have you slipping up at all" my disappearance could be ruined just by her slipping up to my brother. I had been working on it for three years and the moment my brother got wind I was actually alive and Riley was his way of getting to me there was no doubt he'd smooth talk her. My brother was great at reading people and I knew Riley had loose lips around cute boys, it wouldn't be the first time she'd got her self in trouble because of a boy.

"I won't tell him anything" she insisted.

I pointed at her.

"If you see him on the street you'll dodge him, right?" I asked.

Riley crossed her arms and sighed.

"Yes, fine" she muttered. Danny was getting closer to me and it scared me. I didn't want him in danger or anywhere near Victor, Victor had no clue who my brother was and I wanted to keep it that way. "You never told me your brother was good looking though" Riley added, "you made him out to sound like a total drama queen."

I put my hand on her head.

"Trust me he is, did Cora get the information out of him?" I asked.

Riley nodded.

"A month, we've got a month until the Xingese Emperor arrives here" perfect, now I had good news to give to Victor, this would make him happy and get him off my back about it.

"Good, now stay here until I get back" I said walking out.

Riley moaned.

"Oh come on Lexie, you can't expect me to just sit in this room and do nothing"

I turned back around and pointed at her.

"so I got really high last night, it won't happen again, ill tone it down at bit"

I shook my head.

"No you're not smoking any of that stuff anymore" I told her.

Riley's mouth dropped open.

"I get that you look after me but you can't tell me what to do!" She snapped, "you're not my mother!" I didn't have time to have this fight.

"We will talk about this later, stay here until then" I closed the door behind my and I heard her kick it.

"You're not my damn mother!" I heard her shout.

I suddenly felt so sorry for Roy having to put up with me, I must have been terrible to put up with. I could get worse than Riley and she was already a handful for me. Roy would have been just a little older than me now when I was Riley's age, I had to admit he didn't do such a bad job looking after both me and Danny while dealing with his own issues after the Civil war. But I knew if I treated Riley the way he had treated me she would act out like I had, I have to think carefully on how to deal with her.

* * *

Downstairs James and Victor were waiting for me in his office with Duke standing outside guard to make sure no one was listening, that meant this was important.

James sat off to the side of me watching me with blue eyes, Victor was staring at me with his deep blue eyes and grey hair slicked back.

"Im going to ask you some questions that you are going to answer truthfully" Victor said leaning forward on his desk, "you have some idea of alchemy, yes?" he asked.

My eyes drifted over to James.

Victor slammed his hand on the desk making me jump.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you Alexis" he growled at me, "now answer my question" whatever this was going to be about wasn't good.

"Some idea, yes" I said looking at him, "but not a lot" I told him.

Victor leaned back into his chair.

"You must have learnt a few things while following that state alchemist around and being home with your uncle who is also a state alchemist"

I leaned back into my chair and crossed my arms.

"Get to the point" I didn't want play games, he wanted to know something.

"I know you had told Charles something three years ago about the stone that was in your leg which convinced him to turn on me" I stayed composed and didn't falter when he mentioned Chuck's name, "what did you tell him?" he asked, there was no point lying.

"That it could give him immortality" I admitted.

James moved in his chair.

"And how did you know that was true?" James asked speaking up.

I looked over at him.

"I didn't, I said what he wanted to hear, I had heard rumours that it would not only amplify your alchemy but if you were to ingest it it would amplify the human body, so regenerating and other things"

James leaned back into his chair.

"But" he said knowing I had a but.

"But I don't think that is true" I lied, "the stone that was inside me for years was making me sick thats how the military were able to find it when I was arrested" I had to make up a lie about how the stone was taken from me, I was not going to explain the whole Pride situation. "Thats why I no longer have it" that made Victor grit his teeth, he wasn't impressed when he found out I didn't have it anymore. He even opened my leg up again just to make sure I wasn't lying.

"Do you know how they're made?" Victor asked.

I shrugged.

"If I honestly knew how to make them do you think id be here working for you?" I asked, "I would be destroying the military for betraying me after I helped them" so that was a lie as well but the last thing we needed was Victor getting his hands on the one thing that could make him invincible, if he found out what he could do with it, we'd end up with something like another Father on our hands and we all know how much of a pain that was.

"Why are you asking me this anyway?" I asked, "why don't you ask the guy who was implanting them in me and selling them to you?"

"We can't find him" Victor muttered.

"He went missing the moment King Bradley was announced dead" James added, "the military either killed our accomplice because they found out what he was doing or they decided he was too important to get rid of and changed his identity" that saved me the hassle of having to worrying about that information getting into Victor's hands.

"But I want you to find out if he is dead and if he isn't then find him" okay I take that back.

I looked up at Victor.

"How am I supposed to find him?" I asked.

Victor gritted his teeth at me.

"Thats your problem not mine" Victor growled at him, "I want you to find the doctor and question him about the creation of the stones and the syndicate."

I frowned.

"The syndicate?" I asked, I had never heard about that before.

"Did I say you could question me?" he asked.

I shut up.

"Good, now you will locate this Doctor and question him with Duke" okay I would do that but I was not doing it with Duke.

"Don't make me do it with Duke" I growled, "you know id do anything for you but with Duke, the guys a fucking maniac-"

Victor's hand hit the table.

"You will do as I fucking say and you will do it with Duke, got it Alexis?!"

I nodded.

"Good, now when you've located him then you and Duke will go question him" this wasn't good but I didn't have a choice, I had to do it. The last thing I needed was to lose Victor's trust.

Victor pushed a piece of paper my way, it had a name on it.

"This is who you need to question to find the doctors whereabouts if he's still alive"

I stood up and picked up the piece of paper.

"Oh and by the way the Emperor of Xing will be here in a month" I added.

Victor smiled.

"Good, I knew you could get the information" Victor glanced at James, "I told you she was good" he said to James.

"Indeed, I didn't think you could do it but you have defiantly won me over stone mule" he chuckled.

I looked at Victor asking if I could go yet.

"Before you go I just want to remind you that you will be doing the assassination of Xingese Emperor for me, you used to do such clean jobs and I want to see if you've lost your touch or not" he smiled at me. I honestly had no choice in this.

I nodded.

"I'll do it but I get to do it my way" I said.

Victor's smile increased.

"As long as he's dead I don't care how you do it" this was getting harder and harder for me, killing nobody's were easy but killing the Emperor of Xing, killing Ling. I don't know how I was going to do that.

I left the room shoving past Duke.

Duke chuckled at me.

"I look forward to working with you Alexis" he sneered at me.

I ignored him and ran up the stairs praying Riley was still there and not trying to get into Harvey's to get high. Thankfully she was and was sitting on the bed using one of my daggers to sharpen her next weapon of death, it was a rib bone, she liked using them better than knives and I never understood why but I didn't ask because it was her method of getting the job done.

"Well I'm glad you listened to me" I spoke up.

Riley looked up at me, glared at me and got back to what she was doing.

I sat down on the bed sighing.

"I know you hate it when I tell you what to do but opium doesn't solve every problem"

She glared up at me again.

"Why do you care anyway?" she asked, "it's not like it's your money I'm spending" she growled at me, "I'm doing it in my free time."

I put my hand on her head.

"Because I know what its like going through the withdrawals of it after being addicted to the stuff for over three years" I said running my fingers through her blonde hair, "you've been on the stuff for a couple of weeks and will only take you a day or so without it to get it out of your system, I had to sweat it out for a week and I can tell you it wasn't easy…"

Riley stared up at me and huffed at me.

"Then what else am I supposed to do when I'm bored?" she asked.

I smiled.

"If you go through the next three days without it ill show you what I used to do for fun besides from getting high"

Riley smiled slightly.

"It will also help you keep yourself fit" I was going to introduce her to Victor's warehouses and the fun of running from the military.

* * *

 ** _six years ago_**

So I had been craving to get high and Roy had caught me trying to get into one of the opium dens, the guy at the door was being a jerk and wouldn't let me in because I was underage. It was easier getting into the Central opium dens than here out in the East, they were all for following the rules.

The pain in my sternum was still there and the doctors had taken me off morphine when they discovered I was getting addict to it, so they explained to Roy what he had to do to get me off any drugs. I had to sweat it out for several days but I had to be watched 24/7, they offered him a mental institution he could send me to but we both knew that wasn't going to work out so he had locked both me and him in his room until I was clean.

"This is so damn fucking stupid Roy!" I snapped at him pacing the room, I was getting agitated.

Roy sat on a chair blocking the door, he said nothing but watched me.

"Im not addicted to the shit!" I protested, "I'm just bored and need something to do!"

He crossed his arms.

"Then these few days should be easy for you" he could already see me sweating, I didn't know if I was hot or cold.

I turned around looking for another way out since Roy was blocking the door.

"You're being so damn stupid" I growled turning around, "I'm not staying in this damn room with you" I walked over to the window.

"If you have the strength to open the window you can leave, if not then you're stuck in here with me" I ignored him trying to open the window but my muscles screamed at me when I tried to use them, they were stiff and craving any type of drug.

"Ahh just fucking open!" I shouted ramming my shoulder into it, not even the glass broke, instead I stumbled backwards to the ground. I didn't bother getting up, I laid down and rolled onto my stomach pressing my face against the wooden floor. It felt cold making me shiver but I still didn't know if I was cold or hot as I sweated more.

"Damn bastard thinks he can control me" I muttered writhing on the ground, my body start spasming and I couldn't stop swallowing like if I didn't stop I was going to drown in my own saliva.

I rolled onto my back staring up at the dark ceiling while my breathing increased.

While I laid there I couldn't think but crave for the one thing that took my pain away, it wasn't just physical it was mental pain and took away the voices that were screaming at me. And thats when it started, I felt an electric current start in my back that would shock through my arms and clench up in violent spasms.

I moaned in pain rolling onto my side curling into a ball, my mind was spinning a million thoughts at once, like it had become a random image and music blender. I would see personal experiences, songs and a lot of disturbing images.

I squeezed my eyes shut to get rid of it all but it only got worse. My stomach felt like it was on fire and I think I was going to throw up.

"Please" I moaned crawling to my knees, "just let me have a little bit" I cried in defeat. My hair stuck to my face and neck and my nose wouldn't stop running, I felt tired but trying to sleep only made my body go into spasms.

I crawled towards Roy.

"Please" I whispered, he didn't say anything only watched me.

"Please Roy!" I cried in desperation.

I grabbed his arm trying to pull him off the chair but I could hardly lift his arm. He wasn't going to move.

I gritted my teeth in pain and glared up at him through my hair.

"Why are you doing this to me?!" I screamed at him, I tried to get to my feet but my knees buckled under me. "Fuck you" I sobbed collapsing on top of him, he sat me on the ground still staying silent.

"It hurts" I whimpered, I could no longer control my body and it hurt like I was drowning, like I was being deprived of oxygen.

My stomach heaved once but nothing came out, I heaved again and threw up all over myself making myself cry. I was only sixteen and I was going through withdrawals usually a grown man couldn't handle.

"Come on" Roy muttered pulling me to my feet, he had to hold me because the moment I stood my legs collapsed under me. The room kept spinning and I stumbled into the shower throwing up again.

I curled up on the floor of the shower as Roy turned it on. He left me in there for god knows how long, I wasn't sure if I had slept at all but finally I felt sane again. By this time my hands didn't look human anymore, I must had been lying in there for hours but I managed to turn the shower off and crawled out of the shower soaking wet. My clothes stuck to my body.

Roy had fallen asleep in the chair, I saw this as my opportunity to get past him, I was still crawling across the ground soaking wet but that meant nothing if I could get high again. I reached him and reached up for the door handle but I stumbled straight onto him.

Roy jumped awake and pushed me from the door.

"No Alexis" he whispered.

I was still sobbing in pain.

I stumbled against him, a shiver ran through my body and I clutched Roy thinking I could steal the heat radiating from his body.

"It hurts" I cried not letting go of him, he tried to get me to let go of him but I ended up pulling both of us to the ground. "It hurts Roy, make it stop…"

Roy scooped me up in his arms and put me on the bed.

"I know" he muttered, "but a few more days and you'll never have to go through it again" I didn't let go of him until I finally fell asleep, I tossed and turned but I managed to sleep through the pain. I still had at least 72 more hours of it until the pain would finally cease.


	11. Chapter 8

_**Chapter eight**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Now I was looking for an associate of the man who had sold philosopher stones to Victor, this man was a military solider who supposedly was still loyal to King Bradley. There were still soldiers spotted throughout the military who were but these men were usually low ranking officers, Fuhrer Grumman had made sure any high ranking officer under his command was loyal to him and his rules only.

"So why are you coming with me to do it when you usually just send me off?" Riley asked me, we were waiting for the solider. I had already got her to scout out his route home and where he lived but unfortunately for us it was in the military dorms so we were going to have to question him somewhere where the military won't find us.

I had my hood up staying to the shadows while Riley sat on the wall beside me kicking her legs back and forth.

"Why do you always ask questions?" I asked back.

Riley sighed in annoyance.

"Don't answer my question with a question, I hate it when you do that" she growled at me, "I'm curious to why you're joining not that I'm complaining because I haven't seen you in action yet which by the way I'm so keen to see" she squealed excitedly.

I glanced at her.

"What?" she asked. "Ive heard all the stories but no one believes them anymore because you don't go out much unless its with the man himself" she was talking about Victor. "Everyone thinks you've lost your savage touch" I had not lost it, I was trying hard to control it.

"Curiosity killed the cat" was all I said back and that frustrated her even more, she kicked her feet against the wall.

The street was practically empty, when I saw the solider down the street heading our way I knew it was the guy we wanted.

"Come on Lexie" Riley whined, "you used to be feared now you're a laughing stock because you sit up in your room scheming about things that I have no idea about and you send me off to do the dirty work" she hadn't spotted the solider yet, she wasn't paying attention. "Look I don't care about doing the dirty work and I get you have to keep hidden but everyone seriously thinks you're weak" she moaned.

I clenched my fists.

Fine, if she wanted to go home with a story about savage Lexie then id give her one.

"You want to see that girl?" I growled her, "then consider her unleashed" she had hit a nerve she didn't realise I had. I was a lot of things but I wasn't weak.

I put on the mask shaped as a hound to hide my face and stepped out onto the street grabbing the dirty rag that was on the ground.

Riley froze watching me.

The solider looked up and saw me, when he noticed the mask he let out a mocking laugh.

"Oh yeah?" he asked still laughing at me, "is that mask supposed to scare me?"

I didn't move or say a word, one thing I had learnt over the years is nothing is more scarier than silence.

"Trust me child, I've seen scarier things than a kid in a mask" his eyes travelled down to the rag, "and I really doubt a piece of cloth is going to have anything on my gun" still I stayed silent. Now he was frowning because I hadn't said anything or moved.

The solider kept walking towards me now not quite sure anymore.

"Hello?" he asked, "are you high or something?" he walked right up to me with his gun in his hand. He raised his eyebrows and put the gun to my head but I didn't flinch, "anybody in there?" he asked.

I saw Riley out of the corner of my eye watching intently.

"Guess not, oh well not my problem" he laughed walking past me.

The moment he had his back to me, I turned around and put the rag over his face. He instantly dropped the gun flailing about gasping for air but I held it tightly against his face so he wasn't getting any oxygen. The solider grabbed my arms clawing at them but my jacket was far too thick to get through, he had no way of getting out of my grip. It didn't take long until the lack of oxygen made him pass out and he slumped against me.

I looked over at Riley who was watching still from the shadows.

"Help me before someone sees" I growled at her.

Riley jumped down off the wall and rushed over grabbing his legs, we pulled him into the alley.

"Now where?" she asked.

I dropped the solider and he groaned.

"Make sure he doesn't wake up" I said to her, she kept an eye on him while I shifted through the junk lying on the ground. I picked up a metal pipe and used it to help lift the manhole open, once I got it open I dragged the solider over to it and dropped him down it.

The soldier hit the ground with a thud moaning some more. I still held onto the pipe and dropped down into the sewer, Riley followed but stayed out of my way.

I pulled my belt off and restrained his hands with it, I turned to Riley.

"Give me your belt" she stared at me and lifted her shirt up.

"I don't have one" she said pulling her shirt back down.

I sighed.

"Always wear a belt, I don't wear one to keep my pants up" I pointed at the solider, "I have one to use when situations like these arise" I stated.

Riley nodded at me.

"Okay, noted" she said crossing her arms, "ill make sure I have one next time."

I grabbed her arm pulling her around.

"Hey what are you doing?!" Riley protested when I teared the bottom of her black coat. "What the hell Lexie?!" I ignored her and twisted it until it was as tight as a rope. "This is my style, you so didn't have to ruin my coat, I know you go for the tattered look but thats not my look!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh my god you sound like Ed" I whispered to myself tying the soldiers feet together.

The soldier moaned again coming around slowly.

"Who?" Riley asked.

I waved her off.

"No one, I wasn't talking to you" I muttered at her, she crossed her arms.

I picked up at the pipe and held it behind my neck and resting my arms on it, Riley and I stood in front of the solider waiting for him to come round.

"Uhh" he moaned leaning his head back against the wall, his eyes fluttered open and he jumped when he saw us, he looked around then back to us.

"Im not telling you anything" he snarled staring at me.

I pointed the pole at him.

"Ill let you rethink that for a moment" I spoke up, "several years ago you were apart of something" I started pacing up and down. "You were selling philosopher stones that were being made by the military to a very powerful drug lord" I turned back to the solider and bent down in front of him.

The soldier struggled against the restraints but wasn't getting very far.

"You had an associate by the name of Rene Parsons, he was implanting stones inside a particular child and she was going out and selling them" the soldier watched me squinting in the dark trying to see me clearly but I still had the mask on. "But unfortunately that associate has gone missing and I want to know his whereabouts and his new identity-"

"I won't tell you anything-"

The pole hit the guys jaw and he fell to his side, blood dripped from his mouth.

"I suggest you don't interrupt the person determining if you live or die" my voice was steady, I pulled him back up so he was sitting.

The soldier spat at my feet making me smile.

"I won't tell you anything you hell hound" that made me smile more, I could see the slightest bit of fear in his face and that meant he could be broken.

"I love it when they tell me that" I said pulling out my dagger, "it means you've forced me to do this" I grabbed his hand, he tried to pull away but my hand locked around his.

I pointed his finger towards me.

"First you pull the wick away" I sung digging into his nail, "then you go under the nail."

The solider gritted his teeth in pain while I peeled his first nail off and flicked it to the ground.

"One down, nine to go" I smiled at him, he tried to pull away but failed.

I hummed to myself while I slowly and agonisingly teared each nail off.

"You're a maniac" I had the man in tears by the fifth nail. The slower you do it the more it hurts.

"I am so you can imagine what I'm like when I'm angry" I said moving onto the next hand, "and if I don't have what I want by the next nail…"

I leaned forward adjusting my mask and licked him up the side of his face.

The solider froze in fear.

"I'll skin you, cook you and feed you to the dogs and not the wild ones" I whispered in his ear, "the state ones…"

I pulled back.

"First you pull the wick away" I sung again picking the wick away from his already bloody hand.

"Wait wait" he cried.

I stopped and looked up at him.

"Ill tell you what I know but I don't know a lot" I waited for him to continue, I knew I could break him. "I don't know what Rene's new identity is but I do know he was moved East" I put my dagger back to his finger, "I swear!" He cried, "I swear thats all I know!"

I stood up and stepped back.

"Well then you'll have to go back to Central command and find out for me"

The soldiers eyes widened.

"you can't be serious-"

I put my dagger to his throat.

"Did I stutter?" I snarled, "look I can either kill you now and go find a more willing solider to do my deed or you can do it, give me the information and walk away with life still in your body" I was giving him a choice, "but betray me" I said bending down. "And Ill torture you so agonisingly you'll be begging me to kill you" I growled making him gulped.

"I can try but thats restricted information" I undid his restraints, "if I get caught ill get into a lot of trouble" I pulled out my gun and pointed it at him while he staggered to his feet.

"Then don't get caught" I said.

He looked up at the open man hole.

I stepped forward and put the barrel of the gun in his crouch and his eyes widened.

"And ill be following you so don't think you can escape me" I added.

He nodded gulping.

I stepped away and he climbed out of the man hole, I put my gun away and turned around facing Riley.

"That was amazing!" She exclaimed, "you even had me scared for a second!" She laughed.

I lifted the mask off my face.

"He even gave you a name Lexie, The Hell Hound" she snarled, "thats perfect!"

I crossed my arms.

"Im not finished yet" I growled. This was only part of it, I didn't have what I wanted yet.

I heard a noise making me stare down the dark sewer, Riley had heard it as well.

"You had scoped out most of the sewers, right?" I asked, "no ones living down here?"

Riley shook her head.

"I didn't check this far up near Central command" she admitted, "you never send me this close to military head quarters" this wasn't good. This was close to where Father had his throne and he had chimera's protecting it in the sewers, I had no idea if the military had captured them all.

"Go now" I said walking down the sewer cautiously.

Riley took a step forward.

"Why?" she asked, "what would it be?"

"Now!" I snapped at her, "do as I tell you!"

Riley backed up and watched me as I peered around the corner but I didn't see anything but darkness. I stepped past the wall cautiously and watched, first I saw one pair of eyes then several.

"Shit" I muttered backing up, there were still chimera's down here and they were staring at me.

I backed up.

"Riley get out of here now!" the moment the first chimera ran at me I spun on my heels and turned the corner.

Riley crawled up out of the man hole and poked her head back in, her eyes widened when she saw what was chasing me. She held her hand out for me and I jumped grabbing onto her, she helped me crawl out.

"What the fuck are they?!"

I heaved the man hole closed and pulled Riley to her feet.

"We need to get out of here" I looked up at the fire escape.

I put my hands on Riley's waist and threw her up at the fire escape above us. She clamped onto it and pulled her self onto it and held her hand out for me, I leaped up grabbing it and she helped me up.

"Well?" she asked as we climbed to the roof, "what the hell were they?"

"Chimera's" I muttered, "hungry chimera's…"

* * *

Riley tugged on my arm.

We were standing on one of the roof tops near Central command looking out for our special solider.

"There he is" Riley had sharp eyes on her, "but someones following him" I knew that figure.

"Dammit he told them" I growled.

Riley's eyes widened.

"He's a state alchemist" she whispered. He just wasn't a state alchemist, he was a very well known state alchemist.

"Armstrong" I said through gritted teeth, seems like our solider picked the right state alchemist to tell. I watched the solider walking down the street waiting for me to appear while Armstrong trailed him in the shadows.

"We have no chance against The Strong Armed Alchemist" Riley said pulling on my arm, "we might as well just go home-"

I jerked away.

"No" I growled, "I'm killing him" I warned him not to betray us and now he had so I was going to keep my promise as the hell hound. I was going to kill him.

"No Lexie thats practically suicide, you're no match for that state alchemist" I turned around and leaped over onto the next the roof.

Riley followed me.

"Look you've proven yourself, you're just as badass as the stories but you can't honestly think you're a match for a state alchemist-"

I turned around grabbing Riley by the neck shutting her up. I was angry.

"Shut up" I snarled at her.

Riley's eyes widened.

"You wanted to see savage Lexie well you've got her, I'm not leaving until that solider has my knife in his throat" I let go of her and she stumbled back staring up at me in fear. She had to see me like this, just the girl I used to be and why I was so feared, I was a killer and no one could ever change that. Once a killer always a killer.

"But Lexie the state-"

"I won't fight him" I growled, "I'm not stupid Riley but I do know how he fights, I know how to get away from him" I had a plan. "Now go home" I said waving her off, "don't follow me or you'll get caught" I leaped onto the next roof and down the fire escape. I had a plan but I didn't know if it was going to work.

* * *

I stood in the middle of the street when the solider turned the corner, I had us exactly where I wanted us, the solider stopped for a second then continued towards me. I palmed my dagger holding onto it tightly while the solider came up to me.

"I got it" he whispered. He was sweating and his hands were shaking, even if I hadn't seen Armstrong this guy was giving all the signs that he had betrayed me.

I looked up at him through my mask.

"I warned you" I said softly, "I warned you id kill you if you betrayed me" before the solider could give off any type of signal to Armstrong I slammed my dagger into his neck.

The solider gasped stumbling back unable to scream out.

"You underestimated me" I growled at him, "you picked the wrong night to underestimate me" I saw Armstrong dart around the corner and slammed his fist into the ground.

"I am Alexis Louis Armstrong!" He roared.

That was my cue to get the hell out of there.

"And you will not get away with this Hell Hound" so it seemed the name was going to stick. There was one thing I had to admit that Scar had helped me with all those years ago, how to dodge alchemy attacks.

I spun on my heels jumping out of the way of Armstrong's first attack, I might be able to dodge his fist attack but his second attack I wasn't going to be so lucky.

"You will not get away" oh but I was, there was one way for me to get out of this.

I leaped over the railing taking in a deep breath and straight into Central River below me, it was freezing but I kept myself under the water, swimming with the current. It was far too dark for Armstrong to spot me and he had no clue how far I would go.

When I came up I heard the sirens of Central going off. That meant I had exactly twenty minutes to get off the streets before the military would be crawling all around Central looking for me, but like I had told Riley I had planned this out.

I climbed out of the river cold and wet, the streets were empty thanks to the sirens of Central command letting everyone know to lock their doors and stay inside.

It didn't take me long to get back to Victor's but it was crawling with his kid drug mules who stared at me as I ran in soaking wet and leaving a trail of water behind me, my body started shaking from the adrenaline rush and I staggered into my room slamming the door behind me.

I had to try and pull myself back, killing that man, stalking him and beating him felt so good but it shouldn't, I shouldn't have been enjoying it but I did. Making a grown man fear me was something I loved doing, making myself feel strong and invincible. But I knew if I kept thinking that why id turn into the person I had been trying so hard to destroy, I didn't want to be her.

Riley was sitting on the bed staring at me, she was holding her neck. I had hurt her and she was frightened, she had realised why I had kept this part of me hidden but now I had gone ahead and hurt the only person who actually loved me at the moment but I still couldn't control myself, I needed to be brought back to my senses.

"Riley I need you to hit me" I growled starting to pacing the room.

Riley stared at me.

"What?" she asked with a soft voice, "are you ok-"

"Hit me Riley!" I shouted at her.

I leaned over her on the bed.

"Hit me and hit me hard!"

Riley stared up at me with big eyes.

"Now Riley!"

She clenched her fists taking in a deep breath, she raised her fist and it collided with my jaw making me stumble back. My back hit the wall and I slid down it sitting on the ground relaxing, the adrenaline rush disappeared and my mind cleared.

I sighed looking up at her.

Riley stared at me but didn't say anything.

I staggered to my feet peeling my wet jacket off.

I shook my head at her.

"I'm sorry" I whispered, "I didn't mean to hurt you…"

I sat on the bed beside her and she wrapped her arms around me.

I hugged her back.

"I get it now" Riley whispered, "you can't control her, you can't control yourself when you kill and you're scared one day you're going to hurt someone you love" she squeezed me. "That was scary, I never want to see you like that again, you turned into a totally different person tonight and she was scary, very scary."


	12. Chapter 9

_**Chapter nine**_

 **Danny's POV**

"Okay this can go either way" Ed explained, we stood outside of the Curtis meat shop. "Teacher is either going to kill us or be pleased to see us."

I stared up at Ed.

"No in-between?" I asked.

Ed shook his head.

"No theres going to be no in-between" he took in a deep breath, "so here goes nothing…"

We stepped into the meet shop to be greeted by a man the size of Armstrong.

My face dropped.

"Holy mother of god" I whispered staring up at him, he looked at Ed and smiled.

"Hello Edward" the man reached over the counter and patted his head like he was a kid, "now you have grown this time" Ed didn't look pleased to be patted on the head. If this is his teacher then I was so screwed, he was huge and no doubt would kill me.

His eyes shifted onto me and I gulped.

"Who is this?" he peered down at me.

"The other Mustang" Ed said patting my head.

I glared up at Ed.

"He needs some training and I could use some as well" the man was still staring at me.

"Theres a third one?" he asked Ed.

Ed nodded.

"Anything like the second one?"

Ed shrugged.

"In someways yes in others no" everyone was acting like Mustangs were a virus, I was never going to live down my uncles and sisters reputation.

"I shall go inform Izumi that you are here" he left out the back.

My mouth dropped open.

"Wait that wasn't your teacher?" I asked Ed.

Ed shook his head.

I clutched my chest in relief.

"Thank god I thought I was going to be facing a bear" I sighed.

Ed laughed nervously.

"I wish it was him, he's nothing compared to Teacher" well now I was officially scared, scared out of my damn wits.

"Okay maybe I'm not up for this" I said backing away, "I'm not my sister and not up to knocking on deaths door today…"

Ed grabbed my shoulders pushing me forward.

"Nope you're already here, you're not going to runaway when we're so close" he insisted pushing me to my actual death, "me and Al have been in this situation twice and survived, Lexie survived it so theres no reason why you can't" Ed stated.

I stared up in him in disbelief.

"Says the guy who survived homunculi and the Father of them!" I exclaimed, "I practically peed myself when I came across one of them, I'm not you guys!"

Ed squeezed my shoulders.

"Well your about to be, lets go get our head kicked in"

My eyes widened.

"Your crazy you know that?!" I shrieked, "you're as crazy as my sister!" Ed completely ignored me and pushed me to my fate.

* * *

So it turns out Izumi didn't kill us although she was in intrigued by me and what happened to my sister, the moment she found Ed wasn't a state alchemist anymore that seemed to tone her down like by 100%.

"So she escaped from Central prison?" Izumi asked me.

I nodded.

Izumi looked at Ed.

"Hey don't look at me" he said holding his hands, "I sure as hell haven't had anything to do with it, I haven't spoken or seen her in years, I didn't even see her when she was in prison" Ed admitted.

Izumi leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Why?" she asked.

Ed stared at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean why?" he asked back, "I just never got round to it, I was going to but she ran away before I had a chance."

Izumi looked at me and I jumped. Her gaze was like something I've only heard from stories, angry or not she was still terrifying.

"Whats your excuse?" she asked me.

"Same as his" I said pointing at Ed and thats the first time I got my first smack down from Izumi Curtis, by now we were both on the floor groaning.

"How stupid could you both be?!" she shouted at us, "was Alphonse the only one with the decency to go see her?!"

We both sat up rubbing our head.

"That girl was battling her demons for the both of you, I saw the war that was going on inside her head and she wanted nothing but your approval and then you go and betray her like that!"

Izumi turned back around and sat down.

"Stupid boys" she growled.

I looked at Ed and he shook his head.

"Don't fight back whatever you do" he whispered at me.

We both staggered to our feet.

"So what are you two doing here?" Izumi finally asked.

"I need to train some more and he keeps getting his ass kicked" Ed said pointing at me.

My mouth fell open and I stared up at Ed.

"Hey you're the terrible teacher!" I snapped at him, "and it's not my fault everyone finds it in themselves that I'm the target of their bad behaviour" I added with a grumble crossing my arms.

"How long are you two here for?"

"A month" we said together.

A smile spread across Izumi's face.

"Ive got the perfect thing for you two to do for a month" she said looking between us, "it will teach you the fundamentals of life."

I looked at Ed and he shrugged at me.

* * *

So it turns out Izumi was being all mystic up until she left us on an island, in the middle of a huge lake… for month!

Ed and I sat on the beach watching them disappear to the mainland.

"Lets go see my teacher he says" I spoke up staring out at the water, "it'll be good for both of us he says" I looked up at Ed, "what the hell have you got me into Ed?!" I shouted making him jump, "this isn't what I had in mind when you said you'd teach me how to defend myself, I thought you meant from bullies not life itself!"

Ed threw his hands in the air.

"I had no idea she'd stick us on here again!" He exclaimed.

I stared up at him.

"Again?!" I snapped, "so this isn't an unusual thing for her to do?!"

Ed shook his head.

"No…"

We both faced the water again.

"It can't be that hard, I've already done it before and we've just gotta survive plus I'm a grown man" Ed said sitting up straight.

I snorted.

"That can't use alchemy" that made him hunch over.

"Yeah thanks for the reminder Danny" Ed muttered at me, "and I didn't use it last time I was on here" he added quickly like that made it any better. A whole month I was stuck on an island with Ed, I couldn't believe this. This isn't what I had in mind.

"You reckon we could swim back to the mainland?" I asked trying to judge the distance.

Ed sighed.

"I can't swim"

I looked up at him with my eyebrow raised.

"I have an auto-mail leg" Ed reminded me.

I got to my feet.

"Well, you're on your own bro" I said walking towards the water, "I aint going to survive on this island for a month" I pulled my shoes off leaving them on the sand.

"Theres probably fish in there bigger than you" Ed sighed.

I turned around and headed into the forest.

"So we should probably build a shelter first?" I asked.

Ed nodded getting to his feet.

"That would be a start" so it looked like I was going to battle it out for a month on an island instead of some fish that might end up eating me. Sounded like a plan.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

"The Hell Hound?" Victor asked throwing the paper at me, well Armstrong's sketches were still on point. My fiasco was all over the front pages the next day, I was now the talk of the city and not in a good way. "What the fuck were you thinking Alexis?"

Victor leaned back in his chair crossing his arms and staring at me.

"I wasn't" I muttered throwing the paper back onto the desk.

I crossed my arms back. I had gotten hardly any information and I had managed to give myself a name but of course everyone was wondering who was under the mask.

"I thought you had yourself under control" Victor growled leaning forward, "you said you could control yourself but by the looks of last night you lost it" I had but I was back to normal now.

"It was a small relapse" I admitted, "and it won't happen again."

Victor leaned back again narrowing his eyes at me.

"Well you better have got something out of it"

I looked down.

"Not much" I muttered, "all I know is Rene Parsons is in the East somewhere…"

I looked back at Victor.

"Does that mean you're sending me and Duke East to look for him?" I asked.

"No" Victor growled, "first we have to deal with Emperor of Xing, ill get in contact with my associates in East to find Rene then after you have done your job ill send you and Duke East to get what I want" the information Rene had couldn't get back to Victor. If it did we were going to have more trouble than just drugs and killing, we were going to have another alchemy epidemic and I honestly don't think I could take another one or any homunculi.

"So use this time to find out what you can about where and when you're going to assassinate the Xingese Emperor" Victor told me.

I stood up.

"And don't get caught for gods sake Alexis, otherwise you'll end up back in that prison and I doubt a second escape will be possible"

I nodded. I had a month to figure out how to fake an assassination or I was would actually end up killing Ling and there was no coming back from that.

* * *

I couldn't stay locked up in my room right now, I had to think up of a plan that would involve Ling not being assassinated and me keeping Victor's trust. I had spent three years gaining his trust again and I couldn't afford to lose it but did that mean I was willing to kill someone who had considered me as a friend once?

I wasn't sure but I couldn't stay on the streets today. The military were on high alert for The Hell Hound, so I couldn't afford to run into anyone right now but I had an idea. An idea that could get me killed but it was also something that might come in handy in the future.

I used what money I had to buy some fresh meat from the butcher and spent the rest of the day walking through the sewers looking for the chimera's I had come across last night, there wasn't anymore than a handful and they were very weak and skinny looking when I did find them.

When they smelt the fresh meat they cautiously watched me, they might have been chimera's but they were still animals and animals can smell fear so I kept myself composed.

"I have something you guys might want" I spoke up in a steady voice letting them hear my voice, I didn't want them to think I was an enemy but I didn't want them to think I was an easy target as well.

I pulled out the meat and threw it to their feet and in seconds they all devoured it, it must have been a long time since they had had a proper feed. When they had finished one of the chimera's stepped forward barring its teeth at me.

I clutched my gun.

"I wouldn't" I hissed at it.

The other chimera's watched.

It seemed they were living in a pack and this was its leader and usually when you fight the leader and kill it you become the leader.

The chimera growled at me.

"Bad idea" I warned it.

I pointed my gun at it waiting for it to pounce while the others watched. They were savage of course but I had just fed them and if I killed the pack leader then that showed the others I was stronger and not to be challenged.

The chimera leaped at me and I fired three bullets into its chest, the noise echoed around the sewer and the chimera hit the ground at my feet not moving.

I nudged it with my foot but it didn't move, it was dead.

I stepped past it towards the other chimera's and they lowered themselves to the ground in submission making me smile, it was just like I had predicted. Make them see you're not to be challenged and they will fear you, now that they knew who was boss I could train them.

"Ill be back tomorrow to feed you guys, I've always wanted a few pets" I said walking past them, "even if you guys are considered monsters" you never know when something like this might come in handy.


	13. Chapter 10

_**Chapter ten**_

 **Danny's POV**

It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be to survive on this island, our first week had passed and we had made jobs for each other. Ed was actually way better at this than I thought so we actually weren't going to starve, we did fight the first few days about who had what jobs but after a while we came to a compromise.

Ed would catch rabbits for food, id do the fishing for food and who ever caught what had to kill it, that was probably the hardest and since we had no weapons at all we had to used sharpened stones. We had our own shelters because we didn't do to well sharing, supposedly I snore which I really don't think so, I think Ed just hears stuff in his sleep.

I pulled the fishing line back and flung it towards the water but it didn't come back.

I frowned looking up.

I tugged on it but I had got it stuck on something. Someone cleared their throat behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes widened.

"I've caught a lot of different fish over the past week but I've never caught an Ed before"

Ed glared at me crossing his arms.

"You're not funny" he grumbled at me.

I shrugged.

"I think I am, what are you doing getting in my way anyway?" I asked.

Ed unhooked himself from my fishing line.

"I found a cave" he sounded really confused, "it wasn't there when me and Al were here…"

I turned to face him.

"And?" I asked.

"And what?" he asked back.

I sighed.

"Did you check it out?"

Ed frowned.

"No it was dark, what if something attacked me, I could die"

I stared at him, I couldn't believe he just said that.

"You're supposed to be the big badass guy who saved the country but you're scared of a dark cave!" I exclaimed.

Ed's face hardened.

"Im not scared I'm being carful!" he snapped at me, "and I am still a badass" he growled, "and to prove it I'm going to go check out the cave" he turned back around and walked away.

I followed him.

"Im coming, I want to see this cave" I insisted, it probably wasn't smart going to check it out when it was nearly dark but we were a bit too curious for our own good.

"So what happened when you and Al were stuck on here?" I asked while we wondered deeper into the forest.

"Well for the first few days we thought we were going to die because we hardly ate but then we came to our senses and actually started hunting for food" Ed explained, "we were doing so well until Teacher got Mason to pretend to be some native of the island and attacked us."

I frowned.

"You reckon she will send someone here to do that to us?" I asked, if she has done it before theres a chance she'd do it again.

Ed stopped and I nearly ran into him.

"Possibly" he said to me over his shoulder, "we should keep an eye out because we might not be alone…"

My eyes widened.

"Don't say it like that!" I snapped at him, we continued on the path, "do you know how creepy that sounds?!"

"You're not much of a tough guy are you?"

I crossed my arms.

"Shut up" I muttered, "I've been in my sisters shadow for too long…"

The cave came into view and it was quite dark.

"Okay I see what you mean about how dark it is" I admitted.

We stood out front of it.

"See I told you it's not very inviting" Ed said.

I took in a deep breath, actually no more scared Danny. Im no longer going to be in my sister shadow, time to show everyone that I can be just as tough as her.

I walked inside.

"Wait Danny!" Ed called out for me, "I know you want to prove yourself but this could be dangerous and I don't want to get my ass kicked because you got hurt."

I stopped when I no longer could see. Okay maybe he was right.

"I don't think theres anything in here" I couldn't hear anything and it didn't feel like anything was watching me.

I turned back around getting bored but tripped on something. It rolled around my feet so I picked it up, it was some type of ball with holes in it.

I walked out of the cave and I was staring at a skull. A human skull.

"Ahh!" I screamed throwing it at Ed.

Ed caught at it.

"Don't throw it at me!" He shrieked, "I don't want-" he paused and stared at it then started laughing, "its fake Danny" he laughed at me while I leaned on my knees feeling like I was going to pass out.

"Oh my god that was so funny!" Ed laughed clutching his stomach, "you're face and that scream!" he was nearly on his knees laughing at me, "man and I thought your sisters screams were bad!"

I glared at Ed then saw the figure behind him.

I screamed again and Ed stared at me.

"Native man!" I exclaimed pointing behind him.

Ed turned around and sighed.

"Seriously Mason?" he asked, "I know its you so the get up is so not worth it" and thats when I felt someone land on the ground behind me.

I turned around and I was staring up at Izumi's husband, Sig.

I let out another scream and leaped onto Ed.

"Protect me!" I shirked.

Ed spun around trying to get me to detach from him but I was not letting go, he was the only one who could protect me from these crazy people.

"Let go of me Danny!" Ed snapped at me, "its only Sig!"

We both looked up and Izumi was standing atop of the cave staring down at us with her hands on her hips.

We both froze and stared at her.

"You two have three weeks to find a way to defeat Sig and Mason or you'll be spending longer than you had hoped out here" she explained, "you had a week to prepare yourself" she smiled, "now defend yourselves boys."

I stared down at Ed while I still clutched him.

"What now?" I asked him.

Ed was frozen to his spot.

"Don't die?" he suggested.

I let go of Ed and ran away. Mason shot after me and Ed was left to defend himself against Sig, this was going to be a very hard three weeks.

* * *

I found a hiding spot that I had not moved from for at least an hour, I could hear Ed fending off either Sig or Mason which I was so proud of him. Showing off his talent but I sure as hell wasn't going to help, I was a thinker, not a fighter.

I peered over the bush and they were all a lot closer to me than I realised, Ed stumbled back dodging Sig's huge fists and fell right over me, he hit the ground and stared at me.

"There you are!" Ed snapped at me pulling me to my feet with him, "help would be great!"

I stared up at him.

"Does it look like I want to die?" I asked, "I do not want to die thank you very much Edward!" I snapped back.

Ed pulled me back when Mason appeared beside Sig. We were so screwed.

"All you have to is dodge them, we're being tested Danny" Ed said putting his hands on my shoulders and faced them, "their aim is to teach us how to defend ourselves and the moment we accomplish what they want they'll disappear."

Ed pointed at Mason.

"You focus on Mason, I've got Sig, just remember to defend yourself!"

They swung at us and we stumbled back. I was so not up to this but I didn't really have a choice. So I focused on Mason, this guy was bigger than Ed but I was glad Ed took the bear, there was no way I was going to dodge him.

Mason's fist hit my head and I stumbled back, my back hit a tree and he swung at me again. I slid down the tree and crawled under him scrambling to my feet, he spun around getting me in the back of the head and I stumbled again.

Ed grabbed the back of my shirt stopping me from hitting the ground ducking Sig.

"You've gotta be fast Danny, speed is everything" he shoved me out the way and he dodged both Sig and Mason. I watched him, his feet never left the ground, he slid his feet across the ground so he could keep his balance if he did get hit.

"Danny, your sister was one of the fastest fighters I have ever come across, she was never strong but she was always fast on her feet" Ed explained taking more steps back away from Mason and Sig, "sometimes you need to stop thinking and just move" and just like that both Sig and Mason turned on me.

Now I got it, Ed was a good teacher when he was under pressure and now it was time to see if I listened.

I steadied my feet on the ground and stared up at the two men taking in a deep breath.

"Bring it on" I growled, "might as well see if I listen."


	14. Chapter 11

_**Chapter eleven**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I walked out of the bathroom drying my hair with a towel.

"Oh my god what did you did you do to your hair?" Riley asked staring at me on the bed.

"What does it look like?" I asked back, I had dyed it blonde. Temporarily.

"Please tell me it washes out because you look scary as hell"

I glanced at Riley.

"Don't worry it will, I'm just using it for tonight, you want to go out right?" I asked her.

Her face lit up.

"Thats what I thought, I've got to change my appearance, I can't go out looking like me, the military are on high alert for a girl my height and size with black hair"

Riley smiled at me.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To cause some trouble" I grinned at her, "the Lexie way."

Riley's smile grew.

* * *

I took Riley to the warehouse Victor still ran for kids, they were getting bigger each year that passed, kids from all over came here to Central to go to them of course that meant Victor had to move them around to make it harder for the military to shut them down. And with Grumman as Fuhrer, he was trying to bring down every dark and shady deal that went on in Central and Amestris that he wasn't in control of.

Im sure it would be a tough job, Victor was still going strong and there was one advantage he had against the military, they had no idea what he looked like. Everyone knew the name but not the face, when he walked down the street he was any other person but his name was the name of one of the most wealthiest and feared names in Amestris.

Bradley had allowed that to happen and now it was nearly impossible to take Victor down, he had spun so many webs that he had something on everyone who had tried to take him down. And then theres the problem of no one really knowing what he looks like, he had been able to hide behind all his mules and dogs that only a few selective close associates knew who he really was, he was a name without a face and thats what scared most people.

"Oh Miss may I tell you your fortune" an old lady said bumping into me and Riley while she walked down the street.

Riley scrunched her face up at the old lady covered in colourful old clothing and priceless jewels.

The old lady held onto my hand tightly, I didn't pull away or protest so she turned my hand over reading my palm.

"hmm you're interesting one aren't you Mustang…"

My eyes widened.

I pulled away but the lady shoved something in my hand and hobbled away like she hadn't just revealed the identity of a person whose been missing for over three years and is a wanted criminal.

"What the fuck?" Riley spoke up watching the old lady disappear down the street, "the fuck Lexie?" she asked looking up at me.

I opened my palm and there was a note.

I opened it and all it said was, 'update due'

I dropped the paper forcing Riley down the street.

"Well?" Riley asked me.

"Don't worry, just some crazy old lady" I said urging her to keep walking.

"She knew your name" and that was because she was looking for me.

I pointed over to the warehouse kids hanging around.

"Go in there" I told Riley.

Riley looked over to it.

"Ill meet you there later" I added.

Riley grabbed my arm before I could escape.

"Where are you going?" she asked, "you promised we could hang out tonight" she moaned at me, "but now you're acting all strange…"

Riley leaned up to me.

"You're not going to go kill that old lady because she knew who you are, right?" she asked.

"Riley!" I snapped at her, "I'm not killing anyone, the other night was a small relapse, it's not going to happen again."

Riley pouted at me.

"Then where are you going?"

I waved her off.

"Riley stop asking questions, you ask too many questions" I grumbled shaking her off, "and I promise ill be back I just have to do something first" I told her.

Riley eyed me letting me go.

"Fine" she growled, "but don't get in trouble."

I smacked her head and she giggled stumbling forward.

"Don't get smart child" I warned her, "now go have fun and ill meet up with you later" I turned on my heels before she could protest anymore.

I had dyed my hair but if the old lady recognised me then there was a slight chance I would be recognised in the warehouse, id let Riley have her fun and wait outside after I had done my secret deed and to be honest I didn't really want to hang around in the last place I had seen Chuck, that was a relapse waiting to happen but that didn't mean I was going to miss the chase with the military.

I walked the block three times until I knew I wasn't being followed and sat atop of the brick wall, it had been at least a year since I had done this, I guess he was getting impatient with me. I had my hood up on my head and sat on the wall watching and waiting. When a tall slender figure appeared beside the wall below me, we didn't make eye contact, acting as if we had no idea the other was there.

 _"_ It cannot be seen, cannot be felt" I spoke up only loud enough for the guy below me to hear, "cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter."

The man below me chuckled slightly.

"The dark" he replied lighting the smoke in his hand.

I smiled.

"So he sent you?" I asked, I had no idea who this guy was and it was too dark to see his features, all I could tell was that he was tall and slender. "Im assuming you can be trusted" I added staring up at the dark sky.

"Well I wouldn't be here if he didn't" he said puffing on his smoke, "now he wants an update Mustang, its been a while since he's heard anything from you-"

My foot dropped off the wall and it hit the guys head.

He grunted in pain.

"Don't call me that" I growled, "look I'm still working on it, I already told him it was going to take me a while to get the names and I'm only half way there" I muttered lifting my foot back onto the wall. "There is also something else I need to discuss but I want to see him in person, tell him to arrange something and let me know."

I jumped down off the wall.

"Oh and tell him I said prepare for when the Emperor comes over, make sure he has extra guards at all time" I walked off leaving the man behind me.

* * *

When I got back to the warehouse Riley wasn't even inside, she was outside being circled by a group of boys. It didn't take her long to start a fight but then I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she is a young hot headed kid.

"You talk big girl but can you back it up?" one of the boys spat at her. Okay now this was unfair, six of them against one girl and they looked to be at least sixteen or seventeen.

"Don't underestimate me" Riley snarled back watching them, "and don't you think this fight is a little unfair boys?" she taunted them, "theres six of you and one of me."

I leaned against the wall watching.

I wanted to see if she could take them on, Riley was a good fighter but it would be good every once and awhile for her to be put on her ass otherwise you get far too cocky. Many times I had overestimated myself and got my head kicked it, each time it taught me to work harder when I trained.

"This is what happens when you get cocky" another boy growled, "we'll have to teach you a lesson."

I stepped forward and Riley noticed me.

"Ive got this one Lex, don't worry about me"

The boys glanced over their shoulders looking me up and down, one of them turned around and crossed their arms.

"Hey there gorgeous, you're the most interesting thing I've seen tonight" the boy spoke up nodding his head at me, "this little twerp belong to you?" he asked, "because we're about to bash her head in."

I walked up to him.

"I honestly doubt that" I said staring him down.

The boy smiled.

"Feisty" he purred, "you hearing this one boys, seems we've found ourselves two feisty girls" they all chuckled to themselves. "You guys can have the young one, I like older girls myself" he said taking a step closer me.

"You're not my type" I said staring him down.

"Oh I'm everyones type" he laughed, "I sure hope you're not as weak as you look because I love a good fight-" he said the wrong words.

I lashed out slamming my fist into his face. He was forced to the ground.

"No Lexie don't take this fight from me!" Riley whined.

Another came at me the moment I knocked his friend to the ground but I turned around slamming my foot into his gut. He was forced backwards into two more of his friends.

"You picked the wrong fucking person to call weak!"

My fist hit the next incoming kid, this was far too easy for me beating up a bunching of sixteen year olds. I used to do this for a living.

"Great now you guys have pissed her off, you had a better chance at fighting me!" Riley exclaimed ducking my fist, it hit the kid behind her who was trying to creep up on her. "Lexie this isn't fair you're stealing my fight!"

I ignored Riley slamming another to the ground. I turned around and kicked the last kid in the gut and he hit the wall then hit the ground, I turned around and they were all on the ground groaning in pain.

I squinted.

"Sorry I got lost in the moment" I said to Riley.

Riley held her arms out.

"No kidding!" She snapped, "this was supposed to be my moment-"

"Military!" Someone shouted out, damn was hoping they'd be a bit slower tonight. Guess they had nothing better to do.

The boys on the ground scrambled to their feet and split the moment the first solider appeared.

"See you around gorgeous!" The boy called out, "I'm sure we'll meet again!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Next time I'm going to kick his teeth in" I muttered as a hand landed on my shoulder.

Riley's eyes widened.

"Run Riley!" I snapped as they tightened their grip on my shoulder.

Riley ran the opposite direction.

I spun around slamming my elbow into the solider who had ahold of me, he stumbled back clutching his face and I took off.

I followed Riley and caught up with her very quickly, we came to a stop at an intersection.

"This way" I pulled her right but two soldiers appeared, "okay no the other way" I said pulling her with me.

"I can't believe you!" Riley exclaimed, "you stole my damn fight!"

We took another right.

"You can come back tomorrow and redeem yourself" I said grabbing Riley's arm making her run faster.

"So you would rather me doing this than getting high?" she asked.

I smiled.

"Defiantly as long as you don't get caught-"

A solider stepped out right in front of me and I went straight into him.

I stumbled back and he grabbed my arm.

"Keep going!" I snapped pushing Riley, she kept going while the solider pulled out cuffs.

"You're not going anywhere kid" he growled.

I jumped towards him slamming my shoulders into his sternum, he gasped but still didn't let go so I twisted my arm and he quickly released me before I broke his wrist.

"Sorry not tonight" I chimed slamming my foot into his knee. He gasped stumbling to the ground clutching his knee growling in pain, "my bad!" I said jumping over him, I think I had broken his knee. I still underestimated my kicks.

"I think we have a problem!" Riley called out when I turned the corner.

I stopped in my tracks.

"So we meet again" I smiled at the eight foot wall in front of me, this was the wall I could never get over. The one Jack always made and the one Chuck loved making appearances on to save my ass from getting caught. "This time I'm going defeat you" I growled.

I took a step back taking in a deep breath.

"You watch this one Jack" I muttered under my breath smiling.

"Brace yourself Riley" I said running at her.

Riley glanced at me over her shoulder and her eyes widened. I grabbed her wrapping my arms around her and leaped up onto the wall on my right and twirled over the wall that was in our path, we both landed on the other side on our feet.

Riley's mouth fell open and she stared up at me.

"Whoa" she whispered, "that was the most amazing thing ever, when did you learn to do that?!" she exclaimed leaping out of my arms, "we like twirled over that! That was some real assassin shit!"

I smiled looking up at the wall.

"I had someone teach me a long time go" I grabbed her arm, "come on lets go before the military find us, we will continue this tomorrow."

Riley was still staring at me.

"You seriously surprise me all the time" she whispered in wonder.

"Trust me you're not the first person to tell me that, I've been surprising people for years" I laughed. Now Jack would have been proud of that move, it had taken him weeks until I had successfully done it and seven years later, I could still do it.


	15. Chapter 12

_**Chapter twelve part 1**_

 **Danny's POV**

I was covered in bruises and my body ached all over, a full two weeks of fighting off Mason and Sig every night had really done a number on both me and Ed. We had to rest during the day so we had the energy at night to defend ourselves and it all depended on us how long we fought for, each night was different and Ed had figured out the pattern.

We were either doing stamina which was pretty much not let them lay a hand on us or fighting, which was us landing as many hits on them as possible or defence, which was blocking as many hits as we could. I had to admit though the strategy was working, I could see the improvements I was doing and Ed's improvement of teaching me.

"Was Lexie the only one in your family with orange eyes?" Ed spoke up, we were lying on the beach soaking up the sun and letting our bodies rest.

I frowned.

"No, our dad had orange eyes as well" I turned my head to look at him, "why?" I asked, no one had ever asked me that question before.

"Are you sure your dad is from here?" Ed asked, "like are you sure your dad was Amestrian, I know Lexie thought he was but I actually don't think he was from here."

I sat up, this is the first someone had ever said anything like this to me. No one ever spoke about my dad, I didn't know much about him.

"I know my parents met when they were like sixteen but I guess before they met I never knew anything about my father, I was young when they died and Lexie never spoke about dad except that he was a street kid before he met mum" I admitted, "but are you saying that my dad isn't Amestrian?" I asked, now I was really intrigued.

"I could be wrong but I came across someone in Creta with the exact same colour eyes as Lexie, like identical and Lexie is the only person I've ever seen with such prominent orange eyes" Ed sat up shielding his eyes from the sun, "but this girl said she was from further West, Danny I don't think you and your sister are full blood Amestrians" he explained, "you look it but Lexie doesn't" it would explain why we knew nothing about our father until he met our mum.

"Thats interesting" I muttered, "I've seen photos of dad and Lexie is literally the splitting image of him, they look exactly the same and it explains why she never really fit in, he didn't either…"

I shrugged.

"Thats actually kind of cool, did you find out what the place further West was called?" I asked.

Ed shook his head.

"Unfortunately no, it seems to be a bit of a waste land out there, if there is another race of people out there then they are pretty hardy people because past Creta is kind of like nothing" he admitted, "anyway we should probably go find some food and come up with a plan to beat Mason and Sig, we've only got a week left until we've gotta be back in Central."

I jumped to my feet.

"Well we better get thinking then" I said clapping my hands, "and fortunately for us I'm a pretty good thinker" I chimed, I had a few ideas that were swirling around in my head already.

* * *

"You reckon this will work?" I asked.

We had spent the whole day setting up traps all over the island and we actually didn't make a bad team which I think was Izumi's goal. Send us to an island for a month and fend off two crazy men made us team up and put our differences aside not that we had many, supposedly Ed used to fight with Lexie really badly and they still all managed to save the country.

"No"

I stared up at Ed in shock.

"Then what was the point of doing all this?!" I snapped at him, "we used all our energy!"

Ed glanced down at me.

"Well it was your idea"

I threw my hands in the air in frustration.

"It was a suggestion and you were all like yes lets do that!"

Ed patted me on the head.

"Well I didn't have anything better so if this works you can take the credit" he chimed.

I raised my eyebrows.

"And if it fails?" I asked.

"You can take the blame-"

I slammed my foot into his real leg.

"Ouch! Hey!" Ed protested stepping away from me, "don't turn all Lexie on me-"

I threw my fist at him and he stumbled back.

"Stop comparing me to her!" I shouted losing my patience with him, "I'm not her!"

Ed held his hands up.

"Okay okay" he said trying to calm me down, "stop shouting or they'll find us when we're not prepared…"

I shut up crossing me arms and glaring up at him.

"Fine" I huffed at him, "do we have a back up plan if this doesn't work?" I asked.

Ed shook his head.

"No so lets make sure this works, you remember where all the traps are?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Im not going to set any off but the same goes for you, you can be just as clumsy as me" I said pointing at him.

Ed frowned at me.

"Whatever" he said walking off, "you don't know me."

I raised my eyebrows.

"You're getting all defence about it so that means I'm right!" I sung.

Ed turned around and jabbed his finger into my chest.

"Just remember one of my legs is auto-mail" he explained, "so it's not my fault that I may get clumsy" he crossed his arms defensively.

"You can't use that excuse all the time…" my voice trailed off when Mason and Sig appeared behind him.

My eyes widened and Ed's face dropped.

"They're behind me, right?" Ed asked.

I nodded taking a step back.

Ed turned around and also took a step back.

"Remember the plan?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Good, Mason is all yours, I've got Sig and remember to stick to the plan!"

Both Sig and Mason ran at us and we separated. Tonight was stamina so that meant we had to out run them but tonight was going to be different, tonight we were going to beat them and prove to Izumi both of us were ready to not be on this island anymore.

I leaped over the first trap and Mason caught on straight away leaping over it as well.

"Dammit" I growled taking a sharp right heading for the next trap. I had to trick him into stepping onto one of them but he wasn't stupid, he was dodging every trap I had to dodge. We needed a better plan and continuously running was making me way too tried to think up of something, I needed to find Ed and hope he was having a better time than me.

I skidded around the corner and smacked right into Ed, we both rolled across the ground and staggered to our feet.

"Are you having the same problem as me?" Ed asked panting backing away from both Sig and Mason.

I followed him.

"Seems like it" I muttered, "and I'm out of plans" I added.

"Im not, follow me" Ed spun around grabbing my arm and pulling me with him, I followed him deeper into the forest trying not to trip. I could hardly see him in front of me but I could hear the two very heavy pairs of feet behind me which kept me running, about two weeks ago I wouldn't have been able to keep this up but now I could and with Sig and Mason so silent just made it scarier, it kept us moving.

We came out into a clearing where we had spent a far too long time today digging a ditch and covered with leaves and grass, now I see what Ed wanted to do.

"Got it?" Ed asked as we came to a stop.

I nodded.

We turned around and faced the two men behind us, we circled each other until they were exactly where we wanted them to be.

Ed wrapped his arms around me pulling me off the ground and I slammed my feet into Sig, it didn't do much just made him take a few steps back but he ran into Mason who stepped onto the hole.

"Ah shit!" Mason exclaimed reaching out for anything to save him from falling in, he grabbed Sig pulling him into the ditch with him.

Ed and I looked at each other and smiled.

"It worked" Ed said holding his fist up.

I hit mine with his.

"Of course it worked!" I exclaimed.

We both peered over the edge.

"Nicely done Mason" Sig muttered climbing to his feet.

"Hey I had no idea there was a ditch!" Mason exclaimed, "I didn't think they'd put this much effort into the traps!"

They both looked up at us.

"Well done boys, you pass" Sig said up to us.

We both smiled some more.

"Ha yes!" We both exclaimed taking a few steps back while they climbed out of the ditch.

"And a week early-"

One of the rabbit traps wrapped around one of our ankles when we set it off and it pulled both of us off the ground leaving us hanging in the air.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Ed snapped, "why did you set up one so close to the ditch?!" He shouted at me.

I squinted.

"Hey don't shout I'm right next to you!" I shouted back.

We both struggled.

"This does not look good for us Danny, we just got caught in one of our own traps!"

"You two can get yourselves down" Sig said walking past us.

Mason waved us off.

"Meet you at the beach!" He called out leaving us behind.

"Good one Danny" Ed snapped pushing me, I went straight back into him.

"Hey your stuck up here with me!"

We threw our arms at each other.

"And we did what we're here to do, at least now we can go sleep in a normal bed"

Ed stared at me.

"Yeah if we can get down or they'll just leave us here!"

My face dropped.

"Well we better get onto that shouldn't we!"


	16. Chapter 12 P2

_**Chapter twelve part 2**_

 **Danny's POV**

I thought the island was bad but it had nothing on Izumi Curtis, a whole week I had endured her training and I was so glad when it was over and finally made it back to Central.

We walked out of Central station, I felt like a man now. I just didn't look like a badass, I was one.

"Danny!" Andre and Felix exclaimed when they saw me, "you're alive!"

Ed patted me on the head.

"Now you can go kick some ass and show your friends what you learnt"

I smiled up at him.

"just don't get caught because I'm not sticking up for you when Mustang finds out you know how to fight because of me"

I waved Ed off.

"I can handle Roy-"

Andre and Felix nearly knocked me to the ground.

"Bro where have you been?!" Andre exclaimed wrapping his arm around my neck and digging his knuckles into my head.

I squinted in pain.

"I thought you were dead! You've been gone for like a month!" Felix added jumping around me.

I laughed pushing Andre off me.

"Im not dead!" I laughed at them, "I was just finding myself."

They both scrunched their faces up.

"Bro did you get laid?"

I shoved Andre away.

"No, there were no girls involved" I sighed.

Andre crossed his arms.

"Shame bro shame, so how did you find yourself if there were no women involved?" he asked.

Felix stopped moving and I noticed the black eye.

"What happened to you?" I asked pointing at his black eye.

Felix looked down.

"Tom of course" Andre sighed, "cornered him the other day looking for you, saying something about some guy had him up against the wall because he knocked you to the ground…"

I pointed at Ed who was walking away.

"Him" they both turned to look at him, "Tom and Clyde had me on the ground in the middle of the street and Ed got him to back off" I told them.

Felix and Andre frowned.

"Who's that?" they asked.

"You remember years ago that kid become a state alchemist, some towny kid"

They both nodded.

"Yeah the Fullmetal alchemist, right?" Felix asked.

I nodded.

"Thats him"

They both stared at him.

"Oh my god he got old" they both said together.

I looked between them frowning.

"Twenty isn't old"

They both shrugged.

"Well, he's older than us so that makes him old" Andre said with a shrug, that made no sense at all.

"So are you saying my sister is old because she be would twenty-one now" I said to him.

Andre shook his hands at me.

"Nah man that doesn't count, your sister is hot"

Felix nodded in agreement.

I scrunched up my face at them in disgust.

"You don't even know what she looks like now" I pointed out.

Andre shrugged.

"She's probably still hot" Felix spoke up.

"Bro she'd be hotter, she would have grown up and got all those lady curves-"

"Can we not talk about my sister like this!" I snapped disgusted.

They both shut up.

"How did we even manage to get onto this topic?" I wondered allowed, "anyway lets go see Tom" I said walking past them. I didn't want to talk about my sister the way they wanted to, that was just grossing me out.

"Whoa wait up" Andre said following me, "you're kidding, right?"

Felix came up beside me.

"You're the one he's looking for, he really wants to kick your ass" Felix added.

I smiled.

"Good, lets see him try this time" I muttered to myself, I knew exactly where he'd be hanging out and I was not going to let him push me around any longer. It was time to take the Lexie approach and for these bullies to be afraid of the nerds.

* * *

Tom and his group of friends were exactly where I thought they would be, hanging around the slum parts of Central where they could get away with things you couldn't the closer you got to Central command. But first we did a pit stop at home so I could grab a few things that would make me look more fearsome.

"Why are you bringing a gun?" Andre asked, "thats only going to get you into trouble" he sighed.

I shook the gun around.

"Its empty guys plus uncle won't even realise, ill use it to my advantage then return it before he gets home and he'll never know" I wasn't going to shoot anyone I just wanted to see the look on Tom's face when he realised that he couldn't take me anymore. He feared Lexie and now it was time to show him that I was her little brother, and I was not to be messed with either.

"You stole it from your uncle whose the Brigadier General might I add!" Felix exclaimed.

Andre and I both stared at him. He was being way over dramatic about it.

"If he did find out he may smack me over the back of the head, take it back and lock me in my room for a few days" I explained waving him off, "no worse than Lexie used to get."

Felix threw his hands in the air.

"You're turning out like her, you know that right?"

I glared at him and he shut up very quickly looking away from me.

"My sister would actually use it, this thing isn't even loaded Felix" I told him as Andre put his arm around my shoulders.

"True and I am looking forward to seeing the look on Tom's face when you point it at him" they thought that the gun was my only way of scaring Tom, they still hadn't seen what I had just learnt over the past month.

We spotted Tom, Clyde and three others kicking around a ball and trying to get each other in the head with it, like they didn't need anymore brain damage as it is.

We walked towards them. I could feel both Felix and Andre less keen to do this the closer we got but I had the gun in the back of my pants and my fighting skills fresh, I was ready to teach some bullies a lesson. No one gave my friend a black eye and got away with it.

"Oh lookie here" Tom said putting his foot on the ball stopping it and staring at us, "its the killers little brother, the Ishbalan scum and" he paused looking Felix up and down, "you're not even worth mentioning" Tom laughed at him.

I stepped forward and Tom looked down at me.

"This stops now" I said crossing my arms, "either leave us alone or you're going to be sorry" I warned.

Tom pointed at me laughing.

"Are you threatening me?" he asked, "you?" he was finding all this funny, he wasn't going to soon. "The little nobody, you know that threat might be scary if you had your sister or the other one around" he said referring to Ed, "but you don't, instead you brought these two losers."

The rest of his friends joined in laughing.

"You're the one who's pathetic" I said over his laughter, "picking on people weaker than yourself just to make you feel better" I crossed my arms.

Tom stopped laughing. He kicked his foot into the ball and I ducked it making him clench his fists.

"But why do you like picking on the weak ones?" I asked him, I could see the bruises around his arms. "Does daddy dearest hurt you?" I asked, "does he make you feel like a weakling so you need to do something to not feel weak?"

And Tom snapped jumping at me.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Tom roared.

I stepped out the way and he stumbled forward.

Felix and Andre stepped out the way of the fight.

Everyone circled both me and Tom watching intently.

"My name is Daniel Mustang" I said watching him, "and now its my turn to show you what my sister taught me over the years" once again Tom threw another punch my way but I ducked kicking my foot out getting him in the shin.

Tom staggered back slightly shocked.

"And whats that?" Tom spat, "how to be a crazy psychopathic killer?" he was trying to taunt me but Tom was nothing but a childish bully. He was nothing compared to the real villains I had witnessed, I had seen real psychopathic killers like Solf J. Kimblee or Pride and Gluttony and they weren't even human but this boy was nothing compared to them.

Tom recovered again throwing his right fist at me.

I grabbed his out stretched arm, turned it an unnatural way and kicking the back of his knees. Tom grunted in pain as his knees hit the ground and I held his arm behind his back, if I forced it anymore id break his arm.

"No, my sister taught me how to be feared" I pulled out the gun and held it against his head.

Tom froze.

"But maybe the whole crazy psycho killer could work in my favour, at least then Amestris would be rid of you" I added with a smirk.

Felix and Andre watched in awe knowing the gun was empty while the others stared in horror.

"Wait wait" Tom said quickly, "okay look I'm sorry…"

I twisted his arm some more and he groaned in pain.

"Im not the one you need to be apologising to" I said pushing the gun harder against his head, "I think its Felix you need to say sorry to" I told him.

Tom looked over at Felix and gulped. I was glad that Tom chose the slums to hang out, this sort of thing wasn't unusual and the military hardly ever patrolled here.

"Im sorry man, look I won't bother you guys again"

I smiled letting Tom go and stepping away.

Andre and Felix retreated behind me with huge smirks.

"The thing that makes this even better is the gun isn't even loaded!" I laughed at Tom as he staggered to his feet rubbing his arm.

"You bastard" Tom growled glaring at us, "how about we teach these three a few lessons of our own?" Tom asked his friends.

"Shouldn't have said that" Felix muttered from behind me.

I sighed.

"Probably not" I muttered, I might have just caused an unnecessary fight.

I stepped forward holding up the empty gun in my hand.

"Look guys, do you honestly think this is all worth it?" I asked. "Fighting for this loser because I hurt his pride?" I asked Tom's friends.

"They're not going to listen to a loser like you" Tom snarled.

I shrugged at him.

"Fine then your prob-"

I pressed the trigger of the gun without realising it and it went off, my eyes widened and Tom let off a shrilling howl clutching his leg and rolling on the ground.

I stared at the gun.

"Okay so maybe it was loaded" it honestly felt too light to be loaded.

"Danny!" Andre and Felix exclaimed at me, all of Tom's friends made a run for it leaving Tom on the ground crying and clutching his leg.

"I didn't know it was loaded" I said to Andre and Felix.

I turned around waving the gun around and they ducked out the way.

"Didn't you check the damn thing?!" Andre asked.

"No but it felt way too light for it to be loaded" I scoffed at him.

They both stared at me.

"And so you decide not to check the thing that can kill someone?!" Felix exclaimed at me.

I sighed.

"Oh come on, it was like a 8% chance of it actually being loaded" now they were staring at me in disbelief.

"Who the hell taught you maths?!" Felix snapped, we all ignored crying Tom on the ground behind me. "Because that's not how it's works Danny!"

"Math was never my strong point" I muttered scratching my head.

The gun went off again into the air.

Felix and Andre ducked again nearly butting heads.

"Daniel!" They snapped.

I pulled out the clip quickly then smiled.

"Now its empty" I said to them, they both sighed at me shaking their heads, "and no one died" I pointed out.

They pointed at crying Tom.

"But someone got hurt!"

I glanced at Tom.

"He's not gunna die, its just a flesh wound plus he's not going to bother us anymore" I said shrugging at them, that situation could have gone way worse than it did.


	17. Chapter 13

_**Chapter thirteen**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Ling arrived yesterday in Central and the city was buzzing with excitement, me not so much.

"So whats happening tomorrow Alexis?" Victor asked.

I had everything planned the way Victor wanted it but that included me actually assassinating the Emperor of Xing which wouldn't just cause up roar here but also back in Xing. It would put both countries against each other and a war out in the dessert that would not end well for either countries. It took one child to start the civil war, imagine what a dead Emperor would start.

"The military have organised a social gathering, food, music and whatever else usually happens within those meetings" I explained.

James was in the corner watching me.

"All the high ranking officers and who ever is important in Xing will be there including the Emperor, I have figured out a way to get in and I've already scoped out the place it's going to be at, ill go in, take my shot and get out" I said leaning back and crossing my arms at him.

"How are you going to get the sniper rifle in?" James asked, "you can't just go waltzing in with a sniper rifle unless you're taking a hand gun and walking straight up to the Emperor and shooting him in the head, it would do the job but you might find it hard getting back out" he said.

I glanced at James.

"Ill be taking a rifle" I said to him, "out the back there are going to be constant servants, musicians and caterers going in and out. This event is going to be huge, ill put the rifle in this" I picked up the violin casket next to me, it was big enough to hold a sniper rifle, "ill pretend to be one of the musicians, go to the second floor take my shot and get out" I put the casket down.

"You sure they won't search you?" Victor asked.

I shook my head.

"I really doubt it, getting in should be easy its getting out that might get a little complicated" I sighed, "theres going to be people there who know me and if I get caught ill be sent back to Central prison" there were so many outcomes to this that I had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow.

"Well don't get caught" Victor growled, "ill have someone out front in a car waiting for you the moment you step foot out of that building, the rest is up to you" he told me.

I stood up nodding.

"Make sure you kill the Emperor of Xing or don't bother coming back unless you have a good damn reason Alexis, you betray me and you will die at my hands" I knew Victor meant what he said, this alliance between the countries wasn't what he wanted.

"Don't worry Victor, ill have it done" I said walking towards the door, "there shouldn't be anyone there who will recognise me until the last minute."

I stepped out of his office before he managed to add anything else. Outside of Victor's office Riley had her ear up against the door.

I shoved her away before anyone saw her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I snapped at her.

Riley staggered back.

"Are you actually going to do it?" she asked.

I grabbed Riley by the arm and dragged her up the stairs with me.

"If Duke caught you he'd kick your head in and if Victor caught you he'd leave a bullet in your head" I growled ignoring her question, "could you please just stay out of trouble for once" I didn't have the mental patiences to deal with her trouble making at the moment, not with tomorrows big event.

"So are you going to do it?" She asked again.

I shoved her into my bedroom and shut the door behind me.

"Just stop asking questions for once in your life Riley!" I snapped at her.

Riley crossed her arms at me when I sat at my desk.

"I thought the Xing Emperor was your friend?"

I turned in my chair to glare at her.

"Or was he just a convenient friend at the time?"

I gritted my teeth.

"Don't push me Riley" I growled at her, "you're really starting to piss me off right now" she wasn't going to back down.

"So tomorrow you're going to assassinate one of your supposedly old friends because Victor-"

"I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow!" I shouted at her, "there are three outcomes, I do it lose everyone and become Victor's favourite, I don't do it and get killed at Victor's hands or I get caught and get sent straight to prison!"

I sighed rubbing my temples.

"Option three really sounds like the best right now" I said turning back in my seat and leaning back, I had no idea what I was going to do tomorrow.

"So you aren't going to assassinate the Emperor?" Riley asked softly putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know Riley" I whispered, "I seriously don't know…"

I pulled out the little notebook.

I didn't have all the names yet so I couldn't drop out of this. Whatever happened tomorrow it had to involve me getting out of it alive while keeping Victor's trust, I was hoping for a miracle that might not happen.

"But if I don't return tomorrow I want you to leave, get out of Victor's grip" I said grabbing Riley's hand on my shoulder and making her stand next to me.

"But Lexie-"

"No Riley I'm being serious, I have no idea whats going to happen tomorrow but if I don't come back then no ones going to look out for you and theres a good chance that Victor will torture you to get every little secret I've ever told you, okay?" I asked.

Riley stared at me with big eyes then nodded.

"Please come back tomorrow so I don't have to leave" she whispered wrapping her arms around my neck, "you've all I've got left and I don't want to lose you…"

I hugged her back tightly.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

Now I did feel like a part of the military, with tomorrows event happening with the Emperor and the signing of the alliance between both countries they needed a lot of protection but this was going a bit over board.

"We have intel that something may happen tomorrow night" Roy spoke up, "thats why I want you two there" Roy said to Ed and Al, "you are the only two who can stay by the Emperor's side who aren't apart of the military but are apart of this country."

Ed crossed his arms.

"What kind of intel?" he asked, "what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know" Roy sighed, "we don't know much but I need you to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious trying to get close to the Emperor, I'm not going to be there because someone has to be in command here" he explained, "but Breda will be there to substitute me" he told Ed.

Roy looked at me.

"I also got you in there as well, keep to yourself and don't go asking anyone questions about your damn sister, okay?" he asked.

I crossed my arms and nodded.

"But why do I have to go anyway?" I wasn't going to fit in, this was a military affair.

"I want you to keep your ears open, if you hear anything out of the ordinary or something id be interested in, tell me"

I raised my eyebrows.

"So you want me to be like a spy?" I asked.

Roy leaned back in his chair.

"Yes, pretty much" so I wasn't there for any other reason but to eves drop on important peoples conversations for Roy and yet I'm not surprised.

"Are we like getting paid for this?" Ed asked, "because none of us here are apart of the military yet helping out-"

"Brother" Al sighed from next to him.

Ed looked at him.

"What?" he asked, "I'm not doing anything for him unless theres something in it for me" Ed said pointing at Roy, "just because he's a few ranks higher than he was a couple of years ago doesn't change that he's still an ass sometimes."

I smiled trying to contain my laughter.

"We're doing this for Ling" Al insisted.

"Yeah but Ling doesn't even know and he's ordering us to do it like he used when I was a state alchemist" Ed said still pointing at Roy, "we should at least get paid for still being ordered around by him" Ed grumbled.

Roy was staring at me to keep to myself.

"You will be compensated for your time" Roy said at Ed, "but you still are apart of the military-"

"Leaving the country and researching for you guys is not the same as being a state alchemist, I'm a free man now unlike I was when I was a kid" Ed pointed out, "you guys pay me for my research, I don't go out searching it for you, I do that on my own volition."

Al and I glanced between Ed and Roy. This was getting interesting.

"I said id compensate you but you better keep your end of the bargain" Roy muttered.

Ed waved him off.

"Look don't worry about that, I might not be able to use alchemy anymore but I'm still a badass" Ed chimed happily.

"I don't know brother, you seemed a bit rusty earlier-"

"I did not just spend a month on that damn island in dublith with him" Ed pointed at me, "for you to tell me I'm rusty!" he snapped at Al, "you caught me totally off guard and you used alchemy which is a total disadvantage!"

I frowned.

"Oh come on I wasn't that bad" I spoke up.

Al leaned forward and looked at me.

"Did teacher send you guys to the island?" he asked.

I nodded.

"It wasn't that bad actually" I admitted.

"You're kidding right?" Ed interjected, "you were terrible those first few days."

I frowned up at Ed.

"Thats because you were like oh I know how to do this, I've done it before so let me do all the work then you got all pissy at me because I wouldn't kill the damn rabbit!" I snapped.

Al looked at Ed.

"You did it to Danny as well" Al scolded Ed.

Al looked back at me.

"He did that to me as well, but it looks like you both pulled through and did it" he was so optimistic compared to Ed who slumped in his chair crossing his arms.

"I suppose so" Ed muttered to Al to shut him up.

I smiled at Al.

"Yeah we managed" I chimed.

"Are you three done?" Roy asked.

We all looked at him.

"I don't have time to sit here and watch you three bicker or do whatever it was you were doing" Roy said, "if you three understand the plan then you're no longer needed here, I have to sort out other things."

We all got to our feet.

"Grumpy" I muttered under my breath.

"Asshole" Ed also muttered his breath.

"hey you two watch it, I'm still the Brigadier General"

I frowned turning around.

"You're my uncle and ill say what I want" I said pointing at him, his rank meant nothing to me.

Roy pointed back at me.

"You're starting to get an attitude like your sister"

I threw my hands in the air.

"Stop comparing me to Alexis!" I shouted, "I'm not her for fuck sakes!"

I turned around and stormed out, now that was certainly getting on my nerves everyone comparing me to her. I wasn't her, she might be my sister but I wasn't her!


	18. Chapter 14 P1

_**Chapter fourteen part 1**_

 **Danny's POV**

It was bad enough I had to go to this event to eavesdrop for Roy but what makes it worse is that I had to look nice which involved me wearing a suit… Actually I had to wear Roy's old suit since I didn't own one and no matter how many times I tried to get this bow tie right I just couldn't.

"For fuck sakes!" I exclaimed staring at myself in the reflection in the window, it was sunset making the sky all different bright colours. I didn't even understand why I had to wear a bowtie or a tie, either one I couldn't work out how to get the damn things right.

"Please Daniel, getting frustrated will not help" I heard Roy mutter from behind me.

I turned around with the lopsided bowtie hanging around my neck.

Roy sat at his desk going through piles of paper work, Hawkeye stood next to him organising the piles of paper work he kept putting in the wrong pile.

"I can't get this damn thing right!" I snapped pointing at it.

Roy glanced up from the desk staring at it.

"Don't worry I could never get them right either" he muttered under his breath like that was going to make me feel any better.

Hawkeye came up to me and fiddled with the bowtie.

"You two should really learn to do this yourself" she sighed at both of us, I heard the snickers of Roy's subordinates from their table but shut up the moment Roy glanced at them. "I'm not going be around forever" she added.

I snorted at her.

"The day I don't see you at his side ill believe that human transmutation can be done successfully-" I gasped when she pulled the bowtie tightly making me choke, "hey now" I muttered loosening it from around my neck.

Hawkeye got back to helping Roy ignoring me.

"You're getting mouthy like your sister" I heard Roy grumble.

I pointed at him.

"In case you may forgotten" I said sarcastically putting my hands on my hips standing how Lexie used to stand, "I am her little brother so some of our traits do coincide together."

Roy glanced up from his paper work on the table. He stared at me for a few seconds then got back to his paper work.

"Luckily you didn't get the rebellious trait" Roy grumbled to himself.

"I can be rebellious" I said walking past Roy knocking the paper work off the table from in front of him.

Hawkeye sighed.

Roy looked up from the empty space on the table, to me then the paper on the ground.

"You going to pick that up?" he growled at me.

I glanced at him and both him and Hawkeye were glaring at me.

"He is going to pick that up" Hawkeye added.

I nodded.

"Yeah I'm going to pick it up" I said doing as I was told scooping up the paper and putting it back in front of him. Okay so I wasn't as bad as my sister could be, I did what I was told and wasn't very good at being bad when I did try. I never really inherited the rebellious streak but when you got looks like that from both Roy and Hawkeye it was kinda hard to be bad. How Lexie wasn't scared at their not impressed faces ill never know.

"Leave it alone Al!" You could hear Ed snapping at Al before they even got into the room.

"But it's not straight brother"

Ed barged into the room trying to get Al to back off.

"Its as straight as I'm going to get it so leave the damn thing alone!" Al was trying to reach for Ed's lopsided bowtie, looks like I wasn't the only one tonight who couldn't get their bowtie right.

"Well if you let me do it I can make it straight-"

Ed shoved Al and he staggered away.

"I don't need you fussing over me Al, its fine so just leave it alone!"

Al was right though, Ed's was just as bad as mine was.

"You can't go walking around with it looking like that" Roy chuckled making Ed look at him, he was not in the mood to be mocked.

"Oh I'm so glad you find this amusing" Ed said pointing at him, "I don't even get why I have to wear a stupid bowtie…" his voice trailed off when Hawkeye pulled it off and tied it properly. He didn't dare protest.

"See now that looks better" Al said when Hawkeye walked away from Ed satisfied that it was straight enough around his neck.

"Shut up Alphonse" Ed grumbled at him.

Al stood there with a smug smile on his face.

"What are you two doing here?" Roy finally asked, "you're supposed to be with the Emperor."

They both sat in the chairs in front of Roy's desk.

"If you must know we're meeting him there so I decided this would be a great time to ask about this threat" Ed said crossing his arms, I was curious about that as well.

"All I know is that there might be people trying to kill Emperor, for the obvious reasons but I don't know who or how thats why we are putting more security around the place and why I've asked the both of you to be there" Roy said leaning back in his chair.

"But why would you still hold this thing if you know this?" I asked speaking up.

Roy glanced at me.

"Thats none of your concern, you know what your job is so stick to it and leave the other business to the adults"

I frowned at Roy, he was treating me like a child again.

"But thats a good question" Ed pointed out, "why do this if you know this is going to happen?"

"We don't know if it's actually going to happen, our source isn't overly reliable" Roy stated.

I stared at Roy.

This information wasn't from any of his sources or id know about it, I might not be apart of the military but I had ears and a lot of this was discussed at home where Roy thought was the safest place to contact his sources.

"Who's this source?" Al asked

"And how do they know this is even going to happen?" Ed added but Roy shook his head.

"I can't tell you that" that was him saying he had no idea where this information was coming from, someone of higher rank must have told him this or he wouldn't have even been the slightest bit worried about this information and the only person I could think of that could rattle Roy like this, was the Fuhrer.

"What can you tell us?" Ed asked.

"What I've already told you" Roy glanced at Breda, "you ready?" he asked.

Breda stood up saluting.

"Yes sir!"

"Good, take these three and keep an eye on him" Roy said pointing at me, "make sure there is no speaking of Alexis from his mouth and that he stays unnoticed."

I crossed my arms at him.

"Oh come on Roy-"

"Don't Danny, you're there to listen not talk and I would appreciate you doing this for me"

I sighed at him.

"All right fine" I muttered at him, I had nothing better to do tonight so I might as well see how this plays out and if this threat shows themselves.

* * *

The place was packed with high ranking officials, important Xingese socialites and important socialites within Central, I kind of felt like a nobody and getting knocked about like I didn't exist.

"Okay this is kind of crazy" I admitted.

Ed was on his toes looking over everyones heads.

"Im not even short anymore and I've already lost Al and where the hell is Ling?!" he snapped, "god this is so stupid!"

I laughed slightly.

"You're doing a great job at your job" I muttered.

Ed elbowed me.

"Shut up!" he snapped, "why is it the only person I can seem to keep track of is you in this damn place!"

I shrugged.

"Im not sure and I'm not even your responsibility" I admitted, "I'm pretty sure Roy has Breda on Danny watch."

Ed finally got frustrated and stormed out of the crowd.

I followed him.

"Too many damn people" Ed growled, "this is ridiculous, I can't even find Ling and he's the damn Emperor for gods sake!"

"Maybe he's not here yet" I suggested.

We stood in the foyer looking around.

Ed sighed.

"Yeah you're probably right" he muttered, "they probably all lost Ling or he got hungry and they had to make a pit stop" Ed laughed to himself, "that sounds about right."

People lined up outside handing the door man tickets and were then searched before entering the main room.

"I don't think this is worth the money I'm being payed for, I could be doing something way better than protect Ling, he's got enough protection as it is and he can protect himself" Ed moaned to himself, "he's a grown man for gods sakes."

I turned around admiring the view, the commotion outside got louder.

"Oh thank god there he is" Ed growled.

While everyone was tranced on the Xingese Emperor someone slipped up the stairs, I didn't take much notice until I saw the tattoos.

I grabbed Ed's arm digger my fingers into his arm.

"Ah what the hell is your problem?" he asked.

I pointed to the girl in the gold dress running up stairs.

"Its Lexie" I whispered.

Ed froze and stared at her. It had to be her, she had long black hair pulled back and the tattoos running down her right arm. She pulled her dress up slightly trying to get up the stairs quicker and revealed a scar on her right calf, when she got to the top she stopped and glanced over at the crowd but didn't notice us. It was my sister no doubt about it.

"It's her" Ed whispered, "she's the threat…"

I frowned up at Ed.

"How do you know that?" I asked confused, "she didn't look very threatening" I added.

Ed pulled away from me.

"She was holding a violin casket, I really doubt she's here to play music Danny"

We both glanced back at her but she was gone just as quickly as we had seen her.

Ed turned back to me.

"Go find Al and tell him she's here, whatever she's doing here isn't good and I have a feeling that intel is about her" I opened my mouth to protest, "now Danny!" he snapped.

Ed turned around and followed Lexie up the stairs.

I turned on my heels and pushed through the crowd looking for Al. I bumped straight into him.

Al steadied me.

"Whoa carful" he said patting my shoulders, "you almost ran me straight over… whats wrong?" he asked.

"Lexie, Lexie's here"

Al frowned.

"Ed's gone after her but it's her, she's the threat"

Al was still for a second.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Ed seemed pretty sure"

Al grabbed my arm.

"All right we've got to find one of Mustang's subordinates, they'll know what to do" he dragged me further into the crowd, I knew my sister wasn't dead.

Alexis was still alive and she was here to kill the Emperor of Xing.


	19. Chapter 14 P2

_**Chapter fourteen part 2**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I rushed down the hall, not too fast for anyone walking around would take much notice of me but fast enough for me to get into position for when Ling arrived. I had got in easily which I knew but now I didn't know what I was going to do, I was going through the motions of assassinating him but I didn't know if I could do it.

My heart was beating fast and I could feel the adrenalin pumping through me. I had to keep a straight head, I couldn't screw this up or everything I had been doing could come crumbling down.

There were no military up on the second floor, there weren't really supposed to anyone up here only a few people spotted here and there, all the commotion was downstairs so thats where everyone would be.

I was on the balcony above the stage looking down at the main room, I was in the furthest right corner where it was dark, no one would see me unless they knew what they were looking for.

I glanced over the balcony watching the crazy commotion going on down stairs and thats when I noticed movement on the balconies either side of me also looking down into the main room like me, dark figures hunching over.

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

Both figures were holding sniper rifles that were aimed at the crowd down stairs.

Victor had sent back up.

One to kill Ling if I didn't do it and the other to kill me for not doing the job. This just got a whole lot more complicated.

"Dammit" I growled, now I was going to have to shoot Ling.

I bent down opening the casket quickly and loading the rifle, I had to make sure I got Ling out the way or the other snipers were going to get him and then id be next. The crowd got even louder when Ling entered the room surrounded by guards and directed to his seat.

I pulled my dress up and put my foot up on the railing. I leaned on my knee positioning the gun aiming it at Ling when he sat in his seat.

The snipers glanced at me making sure I was going to shoot then aimed their rifles at Ling just in case I missed.

I wasn't going to miss.

"Don't you dare pull that trigger Alexis"

I froze clenching my jaw, I didn't need to look to know who it was.

I placed my finger on the trigger.

"Alexis" Ed warned me again.

I glanced at him and he was standing there pointing at me in a tux.

I smiled slightly.

"Don't-"

I pulled the trigger looking back at Ling and the bullet hit his shoulder.

Ling was forced out of his chair and two more bullets hit his chair where his chest had been.

Arms wrapped around me and I dropped the rifle being forced backwards into the wall.

I looked up and stared at Ed.

"You look good in a tux" I sneered at him.

Ed's hands gripped my shoulders pushing me up against the wall making sure he had my full attention. He most defiantly had my full attention.

"I don't even know what to fucking say to you, you just shot the Emperor of Xing!" He snarled at me, I could see the shock in his face like I had just risen from the dead, well in a way I had. I was stupid not to realise he was going to be here, of course he was going to be here tonight and now my cover of being dead had officially been blown, "Ling! You tried to kill Ling!"

"I went through the motions of it-"

Ed's hands gripped my shoulders tighter making me squint in pain.

"I'm not sure if you noticed but I just saved his life" I growled up at him.

Ed laughed cynically.

"Saved his life?" he asked, "you shot him!"

"I had to Ed"

He stared at me, thinking. I could see it in his eyes he was thinking as to why I would want to shoot Ling.

"Who are you working for then?" Ed asked, "this obviously wasn't of your own doing, who are you working for?"

I smiled shaking my head.

"You honestly think I'm going to tell you?" I asked.

Ed stared down at me, watching me like he was trying to figure something out.

"You're afraid" he whispered, my face dropped letting him see he was right. "Who are you scared of Alexis?" he asked, I laughed covering up my shock. He was right, of course I was scared of Victor but I didn't think he'd pick it up that easy.

"Im sorry, me scared?" I asked, "and here I thought you knew me Ed" I mocked him. He let go of my shoulder when I looked away from him.

He grabbed my chin making me look up at him.

"I know you're afraid and pretending not to be"

I stared up at Ed.

"Don't think you can fool me because you know you can't" he knew so there was no point trying to make him think otherwise, Ed wasn't stupid and I was stupid to think I could fool him.

"How much do you know about fear?" I asked not taking my eyes off him.

Ed frowned at me.

"What type of question is that?" he asked back, "you've been there with me-"

I shook my head.

"Not like this" I whispered, "this is conditioned fear, the type of fear you've never experienced" that shut Ed up very quickly. "I know you've seen a lot but not like this, not like him…"

Ed blinked at me.

"Alexis who are you working for?" Ed asked repeating himself, "I can help you."

I shook my head.

"No, you can't, this has nothing to do with you so stay out of it unless you want to feel this type of fear" I said putting my hands against Ed's chest and shoved him back.

Ed let go of me and took a step back.

"The fear I feel every time I hear his name, every time I hear his voice-"

I heard the noise of a gun being reloaded and I glanced over Ed's shoulder, the snipers were aimed at us.

My eyes widened.

"Get down!" I snapped pushing both of us to the ground. Two bullets hit the wall where we had stood, "there are two other snipers here who are meant to kill Ling if I don't but I got him out the way… so now they're going to kill me" I growled down at Ed.

Ed pushed me off him pinning me to the ground.

"What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?!" he snapped down at me, "three fucking years Alexis, we all honestly thought you were dead" I saw the pain in his eyes. I didn't think it would have bothered him this much.

"Im sorry" I muttered looking away, "but I had to…"

Ed grabbed my chin making me look at him.

"Oh you had to abandon your brother?" he asked, "abandon us and just disappear off the radar?" he wasn't going to understand and I couldn't explain right now.

"Well maybe things would have changed if you guys would have actually come and seen me!" I shouted up at him, "for fuck sakes Ed I thought you all had abandoned me! I was arrested for something I had done as a child who was manipulated into doing it and got no say at all! I never got to explain myself to anyone, the only person who had the damn fucking decency to come see me was Al and he's not even my damn brother! My own family abandoned me when all I wanted to do was explain myself!" I spat at him before I had time to think about what I was saying.

Ed gritted his teeth letting go of my face.

"Well go on!" he snapped, "explain yourself!" we didn't have time for this, we had two snipers on their way to kill us and I needed them dead. They couldn't go back to Victor and explain that I had saved Ling, they had to be neutralised.

I stared at Ed thinking what his weak spot would be now.

I looked to his right shoulder grabbing it and digging my thumb in it.

"Ah!" he snapped in pain collapsing on top of me when his arm gave way.

I wrapped my legs around his pinning him back to the ground, even though Ed didn't have auto-mail any more there were still parts of it stuck in his shoulder that couldn't be removed. It was his weak spot now.

"Stay down!" I snapped, the first sniper appeared in front of me aiming at me.

He pulled the trigger and I leaped out the way grabbing my rifle, I turned, aimed and fired. The bullet hit his shoulder and he went down.

I dropped my gun and scrambled over to him wrapping my arms around his neck and forcing us to our feet, the second sniper appeared down the hall and fired. The bullets hit the chest of the guy I was holding up in front of me, I dropped the guy while the other sniper reloaded.

Ed leaned up on his elbows and stared at the dead man at my feet then to me.

"Don't" I snapped at him before he could say anything, "we don't have time to fight about this right now."

I glanced down the other end of the hall and Rachel was there with a smile on her face and a rifle in her hands, she was the other sniper.

"I am so glad Victor sent me to do this job" she laughed, "I actually get permission to kill his favourite…"

She glanced at Ed and smiled even more.

"Is this him?" she asked, "is this the alchemist you hid behind those years ago?"

I walked around Ed and stood in front of him.

"You can't kill me" I spoke up, "you've tried plenty of times before and failed."

Rachel clutched the rifle and aimed it at me.

"You honestly think Victor would have sent you here to kill me" I laughed shaking my head at her. "He sent you here to get caught, someone had to take the fall for the Emperor of Xing being murdered and that was you."

Rachel clutched the gun. I could see the worry in her face when she came to terms that what I was saying could be possible.

"Its cute that you're protecting him" she snarled trying to get a rise out of me, "ill have to report this back to Victor so he knows you've got a weakness, that you've actually got people you care about" she laughed trying to hide her fear.

I walked towards her.

She couldn't hit a moving target, I knew that for a fact.

"Alexis-"

"Shut up Ed!" I snapped at him, "stay out of this."

I stared at Rachel.

"Its sad that I'm the one killing all of us off" I sneered, "soon it will just be me and Callum left" I saw the anger flash across her eyes.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Sammy!" Rachel screamed.

Rachel dropped the gun and ran at me. She knew I could never resist a bit of a fist fight and I had just pushed her off the edge, making her react without thinking.

"Nothing like a bit of girl on girl" I laughed taunting her.

Rachel leaped at me and we hit the ground. We wrestled each other but I was over powering her very quickly.

"If you think you can beat me!" I snarled pinning her to the ground, "then you're going to be sorely mistaken, if Riley can over power you then imagine what I can do" I slammed my fist into her face and she gasped in pain. "I taught that girl everything" I wrapped my hand around Rachel's neck strangling her, I had to kill her no matter what. This had to be done.

I pulled out the dagger attached to my leg and she saw it struggling against me. Rachel managed to push me off her and we both circled each other.

She glanced at the knife in my hand.

"Is this what you're scared of?" I asked twirling it in my hand.

Rachel gritted her teeth.

"Victor taught me one thing about you" she growled at me, "you're like a dog, the moment you smell fear you attack."

I smiled barring my teeth at her.

"Well if fear smells like-" I sniffed the air "-sweat and gun powder then you must shitting yourself" I sneered at her, she was still staring at the knife in my hand. "Come on Rachel you can't tell me that I never scared you, you hid behind everyone every time you threw an insult at me" she didn't take her eyes off my dagger.

"Im not scared of you" she tried taunting me back, "you're nothing but a crazy bitch-"

I threw the knife at her and she ducked it.

I slammed my foot into her chest and she was launched off her feet and over the railing.

Screams echoed around us when Rachel hit the ground, I looked over the side and she was staring up at me with empty eyes. I knew that was going to kill her.

"Yeah the crazy bitch who was always going to be the one who ended your pathetic life" I whispered down at her, "Victor sent you to your death, you should have known you were no match for me, you're simply a drug mule, I'm the trained assassin" I sighed shaking my head feeling the slightest bit of guilt. "At least now you'll be with Sammy" I added stepping away from the edge.

I ignored the guilt running through me and I made sure not to look at Ed, I knew it would only make me feel worse.

I looked around and the building was on complete lock down. The military were making their way up here, I needed to escape now.

"Come with me" Ed growled grabbing me by the arm.

Ed dragged me the opposite direction the soldiers were coming.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, "you're obviously pissed off at me."

Ed gripped my arm.

"Doesn't mean I want to see you behind bars, I want an explanation from you first then Mustang can do with you as he pleases"

We ran up the stairs towards the roof, Ed pulled me to keep up with him.

"And I'm damn well fucking pissed off at you" Ed growled at me, "but I'm not the only one who deserves an explanation, your brother is the one who really deserves it after all the effort he's put in trying to look for you" the moment I was out of this building I was going to have to find a way to ditch Ed. I couldn't have him taking me back to Roy.

"Yeah well I wish he had given up" I muttered.

Ed stopped nearly making me run into him. He stared down at me, I could see he was angry at me.

"Seriously?" Ed asked, "he's your brother, he was never going to give up on you!" Ed snapped. "He's spent the last three years of his life looking for you, never giving up hope but I sure hope you have a good reason for doing it because id hate to see you hurt him" I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.

"Come on" Ed growled pulling me with him while we continued up the stairs to the roof.

We reached the top but the door was locked.

"Dammit!" Ed snapped, "now alchemy would really come in handy…"

We both glanced over the railing and the military were making their way up here.

"Help me!" Ed snapped slamming up against the door, I joined in. We did it a few more times and it slammed open and we stumbled out onto the high roof.

We both stood up straight looking around.

"Now what?" I asked, we were stuck on the roof without anyway of getting down with military coming after us. "You so didn't think this one through" I muttered shaking my head while Ed looked over the edge.

"Shut up or ill leave you here for the military" he growled at me.

I glanced at him.

"Don't threaten me!" I snapped at him.

Ed grabbed my arm dragging us further down the roof, we were both shocked to see each other but we didn't have time to freak out, we had to get away from the military first.

Ed glanced over the side again then let go of me and leaped over the side.

My eyes widened.

I looked over the side and he landed on the balcony on the second level, he looked up and gestured for me to do the same.

"Jump down" he urged me.

I sat on the edge and looked down.

"Hurry up" he growled.

I swung my feet over the edge.

"Shoes"

Ed frowned up at me.

"What?" he asked.

"Take my shoes off please" I repeated myself, "I'm not jumping down there unless I want to break my ankle" I sighed at him.

Ed rolled his eyes leaning up and taking my shoes off.

I dropped off the side just as the military burst onto the roof, I landed on the balcony and Ed handed my shoes to me.

"Telling me to take your shoes off" he muttered under his breath, "it wasn't even that far of a drop."

I smacked his arm making him look at me.

"You trying wearing heels Ed, they aint easy I can tell you that" I growled at him.

Ed made a face at me.

"Now where?" I asked ignoring his stupid facial expressions at me, I knew he was trying to mock me and get a rise out of me but he could accomplish that when I wasn't being hunted down.

"We've got to get to the ground" Ed said looking over the railing to the ground, we had to get away from the building.

I glanced over the railing.

"Id say jump but I doubt we'd survive that fall" we needed to get closer to the ground before we jumped.

"You're the expert" he muttered.

I rolled my eyes.

"But that still doesn't help us to get down there" Ed said rubbing his head thinking, he turned to me and looked me up and down, smiling.

"What?" I asked cautiously.

Ed walked around me tearing the bottom of my dress.

My mouth fell open.

"Edward!" I snapped hitting him in the head while he fiddled with the material.

"Hey!" He protested, "I'm trying to help us" he stepped away from me before I actually beat his ass.

"This dress cost me a fortune!"

He twisted the material until it was like a rope and tied one end to the balcony.

"I never thought id hear those words come out of your mouth" Ed muttered with a smirk.

I smacked him again and he backed up.

"Okay okay!" he exclaimed, "I'm sorry I messed up your fancy dress but unless you have a better idea I suggest you stop hitting me and follow my lead!" he put his face in mine.

We both stood there staring at each other.

I crossed my arms and looked away.

"Fine" I muttered, "get on with it" I huffed.

Ed stepped over the railing and pulled on the material seeing if it would hold his weight but the wooden railing moaned slightly.

I stared at him shaking my head.

"Umm I don't think thats going to hold your weight let alone both of our weight" I said wide eyed.

Ed reached out grabbing me.

"Too bad" he said pulling me over the railing, "hold on" he wrapped his arm around my waist.

I held onto his shoulders and we stepped off the balcony. Ed held onto the material and we slid down it until we were a few feet from the ground, Ed let go and we landed on the ground steadily, we composed ourselves and linked arms walking away normally like we hadn't just jumped off a building.

The street was full of panicking people and behind us the balcony collapsed to the ground causing more commotion.

We both froze.

"Keep walking and act like we didn't just cause that" Ed muttered down at me.

I smiled up at him.

"Like old times eh?" I asked.

Ed glared down at me.

"Don't look at me like that, you can't tell me you didn't enjoy that" I saw the slightest smile on his face, "thats what I thought."

Ed looked away and we headed out onto the street.

"Well it was about time for me to get you back" he murmured, "you've made me jump out of plenty of buildings" that made me smile some more. So somewhere under all that anger he had missed the trouble we used to get into, it meant he hadn't really changed, he might of grown up but he was still the Ed I remembered.

A car stopped in front of us on the road.

"Get in" Al said winding the window.

My eyes widened and Ed opened the door.

"No wait you have to let me go" I said struggling against him.

Ed pushed me towards the door.

"You're not going anywhere Alexis" Ed said trying to push me into the car, "stop damn well fighting me" he finally managed to get me into the car and I stumbled straight on to Danny who sat there staring at me.

Ed pushed both of us over and closed the door, Breda stepped on the accelerator getting us away from the mess behind us.

"Whoa you are still alive" Breda spoke up looking at me in the review mirror.

Al was sitting in the front seat also staring at me, this situation couldn't get any worse.

"Search her" Breda said to Ed.

"What?" he asked.

"Search her!" Breda snapped, "she's still a criminal and we have no idea what she's got on her!"

I held my hands up in defeat while Ed searched me.

"You have to let me go" I spoke up.

Breda scoffed at me.

"Oh not a chance" Breda laughed, "you're not going anywhere."

Ed pulled out another knife that was strapped to my leg and sighed at me.

"Hey that cost me a lot of money" I pointed out.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"And so did the dress supposedly" he muttered.

I smiled.

"It did"

Everyone was still staring at us.

I pointed at Ed.

"You know now that I think about it, I've never seen you in a white shirt let alone a tux" I said elbowing him playfully.

"It was hard to wear white with auto-mail since the oil on it stains" Ed said fixing his bow tie, I couldn't help but smile at our casual conversation while the others stared at us.

"Well you're looking very dashing" I complimented him.

A smile grew on Ed's face.

"I thought so myself as well" he said cockily.

"Hey!" Breda snapped, "Mr and Mrs Dashing!"

We both glanced his way.

"This is no time to be flirting" he said shaking his head while still watching the road.

"I was not flirting with her, I was accepting the compliment she gave me" Ed argued back.

I sat there with a smile.

"She's trying to distract you!" Breda scoffed.

"Successfully" I added looking at Al.

He smiled and nodded telling me I was right.

Ed's fist hit my arm and I jumped.

"Hey now" I said rubbing my arm, "I just complimented you on how dashing you look and now you're hitting me?" I asked shocked, I was trying very hard to keep everyone off the topic of me while I formulated a plan in my head that wasn't working out well.

"Don't try and play games Lexie" Ed said putting his finger in my face.

"Can we please discuss the fact she tried to kill the Emperor of Xing!" Breda snapped.

I sighed rolling my eyes.

"I was sent to kill him to earn the trust of an important person-"

"Oh so you admit you tried to kill him" Breda said interrupting me, I was getting no where with this.

"I went through the motions, thats not the same thing" I explained.

"She wanted to put him in the hospital to get him out of harms way" Ed spoke up defending me.

I stared at him for defending me, that at least meant he did believe me which was something.

"You're kidding, right?" Breda asked, "you believe her? What about the rest of her team?"

"You mean those other two idiots?" I asked, "they were redundancies."

"In case you didn't follow through?" Al asked speaking up.

"One man to kill Ling and the other to kill you" Danny added.

I held my hands out.

"See they believe me!" I snapped at Breda.

He scoffed at me again.

"Sorry I don't believe girls who come back from the dead!" He snapped back.

I sighed rolling my eyes.

"You're the idiot who actually thought I was dead" I grumbled shaking my head at him.

Danny touched the scar running along my jaw line.

I jumped at his touch forgetting he was there.

"Don't" I hissed from being touched so kindly.

I stared at wide eyed Danny realising who I was snapping at.

"Sorry" I muttered not meaning to snap at him.

"Why?" Danny whispered, "why are you doing all this?" he asked.

I shook my head wishing he hadn't asked me, out of everyone he was the one to ask while looking so hurt.

"No" I said still shaking my head at him, "I can't tell you…"

Ed's hand clamped around my arm grabbing my attention.

I tried to jerk away but he had a firm grip, I couldn't escape without fighting back.

"You've got the whole car ride to explain!" Ed said staring me down, he was trying to use his height to intimidate me but I sat up straight.

Breda sighed loudly grabbing our attention.

"Oh man we have a tail" he spoke up, "Alexis who the fuck is after us!"

I shoved Ed off me and turned around in the back seat glancing out the window, it was one of Victor's men. He probably saw me being shoved in here and thought I had been arrested.

I sat back down in my seat.

"Look I need you guys to trust me, you have to let me out" I tried to reach for the door but Ed started wrestling with me.

"Oh come on guys!" Danny snapped, we were fighting each other squishing Danny up against the door.

"You're kidding, right?!" Ed exclaimed at me while we wrestled against each other.

"They're closing in!" Breda announced.

"You expect us to trust you after you break out of prison, disappear for three years then come back and get sent to kill Ling" Ed scoffed, "and yet you still ask us to trust you!"

I shoved him and we both hit the floor of the car.

"Oh come on you two!" Breda snapped, "you still wrestle like kids! You're adults for gods sake act like it-"

The back window shattered when a bullet hit it.

"for fucks sake!" Breda snapped.

They all ducked down in their seats.

"What the hell are you involved in Alexis?!" Ed shouted, I had him pinned to the ground.

"Don't come after me" I growled down at him, "you just need to trust me but don't come looking for me, you'll only get yourselves killed."

I slammed my knee into Ed's gut making him gasp and sat up on the seat opening the car door.

"Wait!" Everyone exclaimed but I leaped out.

I hit the ground gasping in pain and rolled across the ground. The car who had been chasing us stopped beside me, the driver got out, hauled me to my feet and shoved me in the back before getting back in the car and driving away.

Now I had to think up of an excuse for Victor as to why the Emperor of Xing was still alive and why his men were dead.


	20. Chapter 15

_**Chapter fifteen**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I was dragged straight into Victor's office.

Victor sat at his desk leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

One of his men behind me prodded me in the back to walk closer.

I clenched my jaw and took a step closer.

He did it again and I spun around twisting his outstretched arm that had prodded me, breaking the bones. I pushed him to the ground grabbing his gun and standing up facing Victor holding my hands up with the gun in my hand, proving to him I wasn't in the mood to be pushed around by his men.

The man on the ground was groaning in pain clutching his broken arm.

I stepped forward throwing the gun on Victor's desk.

"We had an agreement" I growled at Victor, "you send me to do a job my way not yours."

Victor gritted his teeth at me not impressed.

"Where did I deviate?" he asked staring up at me.

"You put two more gun man there tonight" I explained, "both tried to kill me so I had to kill them."

Victor leaned forward.

"You missed"

I walked up Victors desk.

"I missed because Edward Elric was there, it's not my fault he attacked me, I had everything set up and if he wasn't there everything would have gone to plan!" I snapped, Ed was exactly what I needed to use as an excuse. "Ive already told you before that theres only one person who can take me down with the snap of their fingers, its him Victor and maybe if we had known he was going to be there things would have played out a little differently!"

"You said he wasn't in the country" Victor growled.

"No, I assumed and I assumed wrong, you said you had men throughout the city scoping out to let me know when he returned, I need to be prepared because if anyone is going to drag me back to central prison it's going to be him!"

Victor raised his eyebrows.

"You'll have to kill him then" he muttered.

I laughed.

"Oh you can't be serious, he's apart of the military, god knows what would happen if I killed him Victor, either way it wouldn't be a smart move" I sighed. Victor had no way of knowing if Ed was still involved with the military but saying he was would at least keep him off Victor's hit list for now since I was using him to save my own ass.

"Curious" Victor taunted me.

"Are you questioning my loyalty or ability?" I asked. I knew what he was thinking, that I was trying to keep Ed out of danger but he had no way for knowing if that was true. The only person who had seen me protect him was Rachel and I had killed her exactly for that reason.

"I can't decide" Victor said staring at me.

I kept my composure.

"Ive told you before" I growled at him, "trust me or kill me, but if you're going to kill me" I pointed to the gun on the table I had thrown. "Be a man and do it yourself."

Victor glanced at the gun, he picked it up, aimed and fired.

I jumped slightly at the noise but the bullet didn't hit me, it hit the guy behind me who had stood up clutching his broken arm, he slumped to the ground gasping for air.

I stayed silent as Victor dropped the gun back on the desk and stood up.

Victor walked around the desk and stood beside me.

"Don't test me Alexis" he growled grabbing my face and making me look at him, "because I will not hesitate to kill you the moment I think you have betrayed my trust" he let go of me and sat back at his desk. "Now fuck off before I do decide to shoot you for your smart mouth."

I turned around and left, the moment I was out of his office my hands started to shake. That was far too close and now they all knew I was alive, I was going to have to be extra carful on the street, they'd all be looking for me.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

"I knew she was alive!" I exclaimed over everyone but no one was paying attention to me, we all stood in Roy's office freaking out. Everyone honestly thought she was dead and then she suddenly appears back from the dead, but it wasn't unlike my sister to make an entrance.

"She fucking killed someone!" Ed snapped.

Roy sat at his desk staring at all of us.

"Forget the damn dead bodies she almost got us kill with the damn tail, my car has bullets in it now!" Breda added.

"But she said she was on our side" Al interjected, "that must mean something, right?"

"She shot Xingese Emperor!" Breda snapped, "how does that make her on our side?!"

"She did save him from getting two bullets in the chest" Ed pointed out.

"And it was only a flesh wound" I also jumped in, "Ling said it was nothing to worry about-"

Flames burst around the room.

"Shut up all of you!" Roy shouted.

We all shut up and stared at him.

Roy sat back in his seat sighing.

"One at a time, what happened?" Roy asked, "one at a time" he reminded us, "and no arguing."

Ed stepped forward.

"Alexis turned up, she's not dead instead she's very alive and was sent to kill Ling" Ed explained, "but she didn't do it, instead she saved him from two other snipers who were sent to do the job who she killed because they were also sent to kill her if she didn't do the job."

Roy sat there very quiet for a second.

"She said we needed to trust her" I spoke up, "I think-"

"Quiet Danny!" Roy snapped at me, "I wouldn't trust that child as far as I could throw her" he growled. "Did anyone else see her?" Roy asked.

"No" Ed muttered, "anyone who did she either killed or they're in this room."

Roy glanced over at his subordinates.

"Havoc!"

Jean Havoc stood up saluting.

"Yes sir"

"You're going on a two week vacation" Roy said to him, "I want you on the streets looking for Alexis, if you find her bring her straight to me, I want that girl found before she does something stupid, she's up to something and I want to know what it is."

Havoc saluted him again.

"Yes sir"

"That might be a bit harder than you may think" Ed spoke up, "she's not stupid anymore, it's going take more than one man and whatever she's doing she's dedicated, she jumped out of a moving car earlier" he explained.

"Are you saying my subordinate is incapable of following my orders?" Roy asked.

Ed shook his head.

"No thats not what I said, you didn't see her tonight, it's going to take more than one man to take her down, she's been training for this moment" Ed insisted, "she's been trained and I doubt she will go down easily."

Roy smiled.

"Well I thank you for also stepping up to the job, I accept your help, if you find her bring her to me"

Ed's eyes widened, he stepped straight into that one.

"I wasn't volunteering-"

"If you do capture her you can't bring her here, I don't want anyone else knowing she's alive, this stays between all of us. Take her where we had taken Gluttony, that place hasn't been touched in years" Roy pointed out.

"Why should I be the one to get her?" Ed asked, "she's not my responsibility."

Roy pointed at him.

"Unless you want her dead I need you to do this for me, I can't be seen on the streets looking for someone who everyone thinks is dead, if you come across Alexis then she might just trust you" Roy looked to me and Al, "you three are the only ones that might be able to convince her to stop whatever she's up to because whatever it is could get her killed or worse, get her into a lot more trouble than trying to kill the Emperor of Xing" Roy leaned back rubbing his head.

"How are we supposed to find her?" Ed asked crossing her arms, "she's hid from us once and we couldn't find her, she's probably going to do it again."

Roy pointed at me.

"Danny will help you with that"

I opened my mouth to protest.

"I don't have time for you to tell me you don't know where to start, you know the people she used to hang out with and all the stories she's told you. You're not stupid Daniel, put the pieces together and figure out the places she's most likely to show up because right now I have to go deal with the situation she just caused that could cause a war between Amestris and Xing" this was not going to be easy to find my sister, she had hid from us once and did a fine job at it at least this time we knew she was still in Central.


	21. Chapter 16

**Thank you for all the reviews, followers and favourites. I enjoy reading your thoughts :)**

 _ **Chapter sixteen**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I poured myself another drink staring at my book of names, I nearly had all the names I needed and the moment I had them all this would be over but until I had those names I was still considered the bad guy.

"I thought you said you don't drink anymore" Riley said walking into my room, I ignored her throwing back the drink and making it burn the back of my throat. "You might want to see this" she said throwing a newspaper on the desk in front of me.

I huffed putting the empty glass down.

The alliance had been signed, the other night was just a small hiccup in the process of getting it done. Im sure Roy had his part in it, smooth talking everyone letting them know that whoever had tried to assassinate Ling was being dealt with. No doubt the bodies I left behind helped him out, using them to his advantage.

"Victor won't be happy" I muttered pouring myself another drink, "and I'm going to be the one he's going to take it out on-"

Riley grabbed my glass of whiskey before I had a chance to have any.

"I think you've had enough already" she said taking the bottle away from me, I didn't bother protesting, she was right. Alcohol only made me do stupid things and if I had anymore I was going to get drunk. "Im glad you didn't do it" she said pouring it down the sink in the bathroom, "even though you said they all saw you, they saw you save the Emperor of Xing…"

I slumped further in my chair.

"Doesn't matter" I muttered, "I let them all think I was gone all that time and they're not happy with me" this was the wrong time for them to find out, I still had stuff that needed to be done.

"Maybe you should go for a walk" Riley urged me, "you've been cooped up in here for a few days and sulking isn't going to help" I stared out the window. It was a nice day and everyone would be buzzing about the new treaty between both countries to even recognise me.

I staggered to my feet.

"Yeah all right" I muttered.

I grabbed my jacket pulling it on and putting my hood on.

"Ill be back later I guess" Riley was right, sulking wasn't going to help me at all. I had to focus on what I was originally set out to do even if it meant everyone thinking I was the bad guy and even after I tell them the truth they might still believe I am the bad guy but if so, then there was nothing I could do. I knew this might be the outcome and I was willing to live with it.

I stumbled down the stairs slightly intoxicated and before I had a chance to react Victor had me up against the wall, he was angry and I was his target to take that anger out.

"You had one fucking job" he growled through gritted teeth, I let him pin me up the wall staying silent. "Any competition from that country that comes our way will be your job to deal with" he held me by the throat and ran his free hand up my face, "you'll become The Hell Hound again, ill make you into that person I know you fear so much" he pinned his body against mine.

I gulped against his grip letting the fear show on my face.

"You'll be my little girl forever" I caught the scent of liquor on his breath, I wasn't the only one who had been drinking and it seems Victor had been drinking a bit too much.

"Your drunk" I muttered at him.

A grin spread across Victor's face.

"So what if I am?" he whispered tighten his grip around me neck, "theres nothing you can do about it, I own you" his face got closer to mine. A little too close for comfort.

Victor let go of my face and gripped my hip pushing my body against his.

"God how you've grown up" he whispered admiring me. He put his lips against my ear, "you're so beautiful now" I felt his hot breath touch my neck.

I cringed at the feeling and tried to push away but he held on to me.

"I have a special love for you" his lips touched my neck and I tried to push away again.

"Stop it Victor" I spoke up but he was getting rougher, "you're drunk and you're going to regret this when you're sober-"

Victor grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head pushing me up against the wall with his body.

"Shut up" he spat down at me, his free hand ran along my body "if I want to admire my property then I will" he leaned down and kissed me. My hands slipped from his grip and I shoved him away breaking the kiss, I saw the anger flash across his face.

"This stops now!" I snapped at him.

Victor pinned me again.

"Oh are you too fucking good for me?!" He snarled at me, "you're a street kid no matter who you're related to! I take you off the streets and give you a bed to sleep in and yet you won't repay me by satisfying my needs" I couldn't lash out or id be worse off.

"Stop it Victor" I pleaded while he ran his hands along my body, "you know you're going to regret this later" but he ignored me leaning down and running his lips along my neck.

A shiver ran through my body making me feel dirty from his touch.

"Now why would I regret this?" he chuckled against me, "I'm going to love every minute of this-"

A hand landed on his shoulder pulling him off me.

"Come on man" Callum spoke up stepping between us, "she works for you, she's not married to you so don't harass her" Callum said standing his ground.

Victor gritted his teeth standing up straight and standing over Callum.

"How dare you" he snarled but Callum didn't move.

"Go Lexie" Callum said to me over his shoulder, "come back when he's not drunk, you know what he's like when he's drunk and angry."

I stepped away retreating.

"Don't you fucking leave!" Victor snapped at me from over Callum, he lashed out smacking Callum across the face knocking him to the ground.

Duke rushed past me holding Victor back.

"You come here girl!" Victor shouted.

"Get out of Alexis for fuck sakes!" Duke snapped at me, "come on Victor you're being fucking stupid!"

I spun around on my heels and got out of there quickly before anything else happened.

I put my hood over my head and kept my head down getting as far from Victor as I could while he was like this, the last thing I needed was him all over me while he was drunk. He would have never touched me like that as a kid but now was different, to him I was an adult and him being drunk turned him into a dirty old man and if I rejected him that could leave me with a bullet in my head.

I had Callum to thank for stepping in for me, he hadn't spoken to me after finding out about me killing Rachel but he had the decency to save me from that situation. Duke would have gladly watched if it wasn't Victor, it was up to Duke to control him when he was drunk and if Victor did something he regretted then Duke would be to blame.

I stuck my hands in my pockets not watching what I was doing and ran straight into someone.

I stumbled back looking up.

"Ah fuck" I muttered staring up at Havoc, he wasn't wearing his uniform so that meant he was either under cover or off duty.

Either way this wasn't good for me.

Havoc stood there still for a second looking at me like I had actually come back from the dead.

"You know I've been getting that look a lot lately" I said retreating slowly. My back hit someone behind me and I looked up to see Ed, "great" I growled up at him. I was not off to a good start today. "I don't want to fight you guys" I said looking between them, "but I seriously need you to leave me alone" if Victor found out they were hunting me down then he'd order me or one of his men to do something drastic.

"Then come with us and you won't have to" Havoc said taking a step towards me, if they thought I was going with them without really putting up a fight than they were fools.

"You must seriously be having an off day today Lexie" Danny spoke up.

I glanced over at him and Al stood behind him.

"Im actually surprised we found you so easily only a few days after your recent charade"

I gritted my teeth, this situation was pissing me off. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now.

"You're right there brother dearest" I spat at him.

Danny flinched back slightly. I was already in a bad mood and I was slowly moving in to my dangerous mood. I couldn't get any peace and quiet any where. I was either being bothered by Victor or being stalked by all these guys.

"And she's been drinking" Ed added, "I can smell it from here."

I let out a laugh.

"Well I'm glad we've all caught up but if you don't mind ill be on my way-"

Ed grabbed me the moment I moved holding me by the back of the arms.

Havoc stepped forward and I lift my feet off the ground while Ed still held me and slammed them against Havoc's chest. He stumbled backwards and stumbled to the ground, I slammed my elbows into Ed's gut and he gasped dropping me.

I took a step away from all of them.

"Why can't you all just fucking leave me alone?!" I shouted losing my temper with them. "If I wanted any of you to help me I would have come to you years ago but I didn't!" I couldn't fight all four of them but I might just be able to out run them, "I made a choice to leave all you behind for a damn reason!"

I spotted the fire escape.

"Alexis-"

"No!" I snapped at Danny, "stop it!"

Havoc got back to his feet and Ed recovered, they were all cornering me and my only escape route was the fire escape. I was going to have to take a new approach to this, they weren't going to listen to me so I was going to have to make myself be the bad guy.

"I left you all for reason!" Havoc was the only one who wasn't bothered by my words, "don't you guys get that?" I asked, "I want nothing to do with any of you!"

Danny took a step forward.

"Why?" Danny asked, "why are you doing this again?" It hurt me to hurt my brother but I needed him to stop looking for me. It was going to get him in a lot of trouble. "You promised you weren't going to do this anymore, you promised you weren't going to abandon me anymore…"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Then where were you when I was sitting in that prison cell?" I asked him, "you didn't want to see me but the moment I got out you were interested in me again" I laughed shaking my head. "You're as bad as Roy, wanting to know what I'm doing every second of the day."

Danny stood there staring at me with big eyes.

"Alexis" Ed warned me.

I pointed at him.

"No don't think you can say anything about this as well, you're as bad as him" I said pointing at Danny.

Havoc stepped in front of everyone cutting the conversation off.

"And I see you're still Roy's bitch, not that I'm surprised, always loyal to the end like every other dog" I sneered.

Havoc smiled slightly.

"Im hurt by your words Alexis" he said walking towards me still grinning slightly at my pathetic insult.

I took another step back and they all got ready for my next move.

"But the Brigadier General wants to talk to you" Havoc said, they all took another step towards me and I took one back. "Just come with us" that wasn't going to happen.

"You want me to come with you?" I asked, "then fucking catch me."

I spun on me heels and ran at the fire escape, I leaped up grabbing onto it and pulling myself up. All four ran at me at once and practically ran into each other, they clearly hadn't thought this out.

I ran up the fire escape and a fist burst out of the wall beside me.

I pushed off the wall dodging the fist and ran into the railing nearly falling over the railing.

I stared down wide eyed pushing back regaining my balance, that was close. I had to remember that Al could still use alchemy and he was my biggest threat.

"Missed!" I shouted down to them.

"Two up there following her and two on the ground!" Havoc snapped at everyone else, "we need to be smart about this!"

I reached the roof and was followed by Ed and Al. If Havoc wasn't shooting at me then they weren't allowed to hurt me, Roy wanted me conscious so he could question me but I wasn't going to let that happen. It couldn't.

I leaped onto the next roof and Ed followed very quickly.

"Alexis stop running-"

The roof beneath us collapsed inwards and we both fell inwards quickly.

"Brother! Lexie!" Al called out.

I hit some wooden crates and rolled off them hitting the floor grunting in pain. We were in a dark warehouse, just what I needed for cover.

Ed landed on the ground behind me and I spun around keeping distance between us.

I squinted at the rising dust in the air.

"You might as well give up on me" I said backing away from him holding my ribs, "I'm not telling you anything and I'm certainly not letting you guys take me back to Roy" the look on Ed's face told me he was going to be as stubborn as me.

"Im not giving up on you" he growled, "I didn't spend a damn year with you for you to turn out like this" Ed leaped at me and I leaped out the way but I gasped when my back slammed into the wall. I couldn't let him get ahold of me, my advantage was speed and I had that as long as I kept this distance between us.

"Oh come on" I taunted him, "you honestly think you changed me?" I asked. I was making him hate me even more but I had no other way to get him to give up on me, I had managed it once I'm sure I could do it again. "Well you didn't, I'm the same old Lexie and ill never change, not for you, not for anyone."

Ed gritted his teeth.

"Don't lie to me, I might be angry and confused but I'm not stupid" we were circling each other, "I know you're scared, I can see it in your face and all we want to do is help" Ed hadn't changed, I still couldn't fool him and I had told him too much the other night.

"You can't help me so just give up, I don't want your help and I certainly don't need it" I spat at him.

Ed shook his head.

"I know what you're trying to do and saying what you did to your brother was harsh"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh and now you suddenly know what I should and shouldn't be saying to my brother?" I asked defensively, "I want him to live his life not worrying about me and if I have to make him hate me to do it then so be it!"

Ed sighed at me.

"You really are an idiot sometimes, he's your brother Alexis, he's never going to hate you but you doing this is only going to hurt him and is that what you want?" he asked. I didn't respond to his question because he knew the answer. Of course I didn't want to hurt my brother but I didn't see any other way to stop him from coming after me, I didn't want him to get involved in this.

"Edward!" Havoc shouted banging against the door, this place was completely closed off. The windows and doors were boarded up, "you still in there with Lexie?"

Ed opened his mouth to reply but I leaped at him knocking him to the ground and clamping my hand over his mouth. He struggled against me but I sat on top of him keeping one of my hands over his mouth and the other digging into his right shoulder making him squint in pain, I needed to keep Ed quiet just until they didn't think we were in here anymore.

"Anything?" I heard Al ask.

Ed struggled against me again but I dug my hand in further into his shoulder.

He grunted in pain.

"No, no reply" Danny added.

"Hey you three looking for that pair fighting each other?" another voice asked, I knew that voice. "Golden boy and his little girly friend with the black hair?"

It was Riley.

"Yeah" Havoc spoke up.

"Riley?" Danny asked.

"Oh hey cute boy from Cora's bar" she chimed, "those other two ran down that way, shouting at each other or something" she was covering for me. She must have followed me and realised I could use some back up, I so owed her.

I smiled down at Ed.

"Looks like its just us" I whispered down at him, "ill have to thank Riley later."

Ed shoved me off him gripping his arm.

"For fuck sakes Alexis!" he snapped at me, "don't do that it bloody hurts" he rubbed his shoulder.

"I had to do something to shut you up, don't you think four against one is a bit unfair" I said sitting up.

Ed stared at me.

"Not when all we want to do is talk to you!" he snapped at me, "look none of us want to fight you, we just want to understand why you're doing all this."

I clenched my fists.

"Don't you think if I could tell you I would have!" I snapped back, "there are reasons why I can't tell you and you guys constantly looking for me isn't just putting yourselves in danger but me as well, if certain people find out I'm even talking to you they would consider that betrayal and then id be dead for real!"

Ed stopped for a second and stared at me. He connected the dots.

"You're working for the drug lord again, aren't you?" I didn't say anything, "of course thats who you're scared of but why?" he asked. "Why have you gone back to that life? It destroyed you the first time round and it will do it again, you progressed so much in that year you were with us and now you're destroying that progress" I was still that person, I hadn't gone backwards I was only making myself appear I had.

"You wouldn't understand" I muttered.

Ed held his hands out.

"Then make me understand!" He exclaimed, "I want you to tell me what was going though your head when you broke out of Central prison three years ago and decided to go back to the one person you're most afraid of!"

I shook my head at him.

"Is this because no one came to see you?" Ed asked, "because I'm sorry I didn't. I wish I had and I made a poor decision but I want to understand why you're doing all of this" he thought that he was apart of the reason that I broke out.

"Don't say sorry" I whispered looking down, "I honestly don't blame you after finding out what I had done, you must hate me and I get that but I wish you'd just let me go" I wanted him to let me go, I was ashamed of myself and watching them all come after me again and try to pull me back when I didn't want them to hurt even more. It showed they cared when I didn't want them to, it made me feel guilty which was an emotion I was still trying to understand.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Ed growled grabbing my wrist, "I don't hate you, I honestly don't understand why you keep thinking I hate you because I don't and I never will."

I looked up at him.

"But I'm a bad person, I do bad things and I don't understand why you can't see that" I tried to pull away but he held onto my wrist tightly.

"You're not a bad person, you're afraid and thats why you do bad things Lexie, I don't know what this man has done to you or has over you but we can help, I want to help you"

I shook my head at him.

"You in there Lexie?" I heard Riley call out.

"Yeah" I called back not breaking eye contact with Ed, "I can't" I said to him, "I can't tell you and I won't, I don't care what it makes you think of me" I said to him.

I heard Riley breaking the window open behind me.

"If you think I'm a monster, an idiot or just plain messed in the head so be it" I jerked from his gripped and we both shot to our feet, "but what I'm doing has nothing to do with you and I want it to stay that way" if Ed tried to get involved he was going to make enemies he didn't need.

I glanced over my shoulder and Riley managed to break through one of the boarded up windows, I had to get out of here before the other three realised Riley sent them on a wild goose chase.

"Don't Lexie" Ed said holding his a hand out for me, "I don't think you're a monster and I don't think you're messed up in the head" I looked at his hand and smiled slightly.

"What about the idiot part?" I asked.

Ed smirked slightly.

"That you are but you always have been" he tried to grab me but I stepped back keeping the distance between us, "and I don't care what you have got yourself into I just want to help you get out of it, I can see you're scared."

I shook my head at him.

"No only I can do this so stay out of it" I told him.

Ed jumped at me and I jumped out the way and out of the window straight into Riley.

"Come on we have to ditch them now" I said pulling Riley with me. We ran out onto the busy main street and disappeared into the crowd, that was far too close. Now I had to be carful on the streets, Roy had people out looking for me again and now Ed and Al. It was like starting all over again.


	22. Chapter 17

_**Chapter seventeen**_

 **Danny's POV**

I didn't want to believe the things my sister had said to me, I didn't believe she wanted nothing to do with us, she had to be lying but it still hurt. She said them so smoothly like saying them had no effect on her, she was clearly angry when we came across her thats why we found her so easily, she was distracted by something.

"Next time we have to be ready for her" Al spoke up while Ed kept rubbing his shoulder.

"I know" Ed muttered, "she's getting smarter, she doesn't do anything without thinking anymore" he picked up the ice pack from the table and put it to his shoulder. It didn't take long for Lexie to figure out Ed's weak spot. "Thats twice now she's made us look like idiots, I have no clue what she's up to but whatever it is I don't think its something small and I have a feeling it's getting her into a lot of trouble" my sister for once was thinking and now we couldn't catch her, she really was like a ghost slipping through our fingers.

"I should have gone and seen her" I whispered leaning forward on the table, "maybe then I could have prevented her from breaking out" when I had seen what she was convicted for I couldn't bring myself to see her. To think that my sister was honestly capable of something like that, I knew she had done bad things but I didn't want to face what those things were and when I was finally able to see I didn't know what to do.

I had abandoned her when she was trying to change herself and then when she realised everyone had seen what she had actually done she disappeared, I just didn't think she was actually going to leave me.

"You know she didn't mean what she said" Ed said to me, "she was trying to get us to back off and was picking at any sore spot she could think of" but if she said it then the thought had still gone through her mind. "There's more to this than her getting her feelings hurt" Ed added, "there is a reason why she's doing this and I want to know what it is."

I nodded.

"Then what are we going to do?" Al asked.

"We need to keep her still somehow" Ed muttered, "Mustang won't get off our backs until we have her, like she's one girl for gods sake, how hard can it be to capture her?" he asked.

"Well she's pretty fast now and it took more than an army to catch Scar and he was only one man" Al pointed out.

Ed slumped in his chair.

"Yeah but I used to be able to kick Lexie's ass, what the hell happened?!" He snapped.

"Its been three years" I spoke up, "from the looks of it she's been prepared for worse than us…"

Al nodded agreeing with me.

"And you are still a bit rusty as well" Al added.

"And you can't use alchemy anymore" Havoc said hanging up the phone.

Ed's mouth dropped open.

"This isn't point out my flaws!" He snapped at us, "this is trying to figure out Lexie's flaws so we can capture her!"

Havoc sighed sitting at the table.

"Mustang isn't happy we let her get away" Thats who he had been on the phone to, "he says it shouldn't take more than four of us to capture her and either we hurry up and get her or he's going to send Armstrong to help us."

All our faces dropped.

"I don't think that would be very good" Ed muttered, "if we're trying to keep this on the down low then Armstrong is the last person we want helping" he'd just end up destroying everything in his path trying to get to Lexie.

"And it's not the strength we're lacking it's the speed, she's far too fast for us, we need to slow her down somehow" Al said leaning back in his seat, "and if she's as fast as Scar was then it's going to take more than alchemy to slow her down…"

We all sighed.

"We're not allowed to shoot her" Havoc grumbled.

We all stared at him.

"We don't want to kill her!" I snapped, "shooting her will only freak her out" if we shot first then she'd see a reason to shoot back because she's trying to protect her self.

"Then how else are we going to keep her still?" Havoc asked, we all went quiet again and thats when an idea hit me.

"I know how" I said standing up, everyone watched me. "Ill be back, I've got an idea that might just work and keep her down long enough to restrain her and it won't involve her getting hurt" I paused, "but it will involve her getting shot at" I knew just the thing to use on her and I knew it would come in handy. "And tonight is our chance, when we ran into her today she was already pissed off about something so she will want to take it out on someone" I explained, "she might have changed but that doesn't mean her habits have, she'll go somewhere tonight to start a fight and I think I know exactly where."

They all stared at me.

"You sure?" Al asked.

I nodded.

"Lexie is getting lazy thats why we found her so easily today and if she's still in a bad mood then ill bet you she will want to go start a fight, she used to do it as a kid and if she's in that life again I can grantee thats what she will do tonight."

If we wanted to capture her, we were going to have to start thinking like her, her fighting skill might have increased but she's still Lexie and no one knew her better than me and if she wanted to play dirty then so would we. I knew my tranquilliser darts would come in handy one day.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

I was pacing up and down while Riley watched me from the bed.

"Today was a pretty close call" she spoke up shoving another chocolate into her mouth, "you know these are the most fantastic things I've ever tasted!" She exclaimed around it in her mouth.

Victor had left them on my bed, I knew it was his way of apologising but that didn't mean I was going to go see him. I wanted to avoid him for now and being stuck in his house was not the way to do it.

"Your brother is still cute by the way"

I glared at Riley and she shrugged.

"I'm being honest" she muttered.

I paced some more.

"I can't believe Roy has all of them after me" I muttered, "this is getting ridiculous now."

Riley shoved more chocolate into her mouth.

"That one who you got stuck in the warehouse with" she said putting the chocolate down, "he seem pretty dedicated to you, he didn't want you to leave" she licked her fingers. "And I saw the way you were looking at him, it must have taken all your will power to not take his hand."

I stared at her.

"Thats none of your business" I said defensively pointing at her.

Riley sat up.

"You know now that I think about, for the whole time I've been with you I've never seen you look twice at a guy" she pointed out, "sure I've seen you flirt with guys to get what you want but thats what women do but today, you looked more than twice at him-"

"Riley stop" I warned her, I wasn't going to talk about this but she was being stubborn.

"Who is he?" She asked, "the only one I recognised was your brother but they all knew you" I ignored her and she moaned, "Lexie you tell me all these stories but you never give me names, I know you try and keep that life seperate from this life but if that life is the one that made you happiest, why did you leave?"

I picked up my coat.

"Im going out" I said clenching and unclenching my fists, I needed to get this anger and frustration out and being here I might run into Victor which I kind of don't want to happen.

"Wait hold up" Riley said stumbling off the bed, "you were just attacked earlier and you want to go out again?"

Riley grabbed my arm stopping me.

"Shouldn't you leave it for a few days"

I pulled out of her grip.

"A few days isn't going to stop them Riley, ill just have to be extra carful" I stepped out of my room but she came after me.

"Okay I'm coming though, you might need my help again if they show up" I didn't stop her, I would need her help if they showed up. I couldn't fight them off only out run them and I couldn't do that forever, sooner or later everything was going to catch up to me and it was going to be like a kick in the stomach.

I also didn't know the lengths they'd go to get what they wanted out of me, I had promised certain people to stay quiet but how long could I really keep it up with everyone else tracking my constant move. If it wasn't Victor or Duke it was my brother, Roy, Ed and Al. I had no way of getting some peace and quiet without breaking trusts.

* * *

I needed to get my anger and frustration out before I did something stupid and If I wanted to start a fight but also be able to have a quick get away it would have to be the same place I used to do it all the time, the exact same place me and Riley had come to the other night. It was too easy to start a fight with a bunch of kids and they never back down except I didn't want Riley intervening, I was in a bad mood and I didn't want her getting caught up in my bad mood.

The only time I kick her ass is in training not when I'm having a rough day, that was for some other poor kid who picked the wrong day to smart mouth me.

"You go inside" I said to Riley pointing at the warehouse of kids coming in and out, "ill meet you in there soon."

Riley frowned.

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

I waved her off.

"Ill be there soon, I've just got to do something first"

Riley went on without me and I stood out in the alley waiting and watching.

"Oh hey there again gorgeous" I glanced over at the boy that had a thing for older girls and obviously not scared of my great punches, "I never got your name last time, you were too busy beating my ass, I'm Arthur by the way."

I crossed my arms.

"You're not going to get my name" I spoke up, "I'm not quite sure you got the message but I don't have a thing for little boys" I said.

Arthur smiled.

"Oh come on" he urged, "I could give you a wild night or if you're the type who get off on the rough physical activity then I give you permission the hit me again" he laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him. I wasn't going to fight this kid again, he was no competition at all and it was no fun when they made it easy.

"Go home kid its probably past your bed time"

He frowned at me.

"You're no fun what so ever" he moaned at me, "maybe I should go find your other friend to bother."

I laughed.

"Yeah good luck with that, you'll get the same response from her as you did from me"

Arthur shrugged at me getting bored, it's no fun to hit someone if they don't give you a reason.

"No get off me" I heard a girl slur.

I glanced further down the alley and she was pinned up against the wall by a boy.

"Oh come on darlin, just a little fun" but she struggled against him.

"I said no" she was too drunk to even keep her self up right and the boy was trying to take advantage of her.

i sighed.

"I guess I should do something good to make up for the bad I'm about to do" I muttered to myself.

I walked up the couple and prodded the guy in the head.

"The girl said no so I suggest you take the advice before someone decides to humiliate you"

The guy turned around and stared at me, he looked me up and down then smiled, he let the drunk girl go.

The girl staggered away from us.

"And I guess you're the one who wants to humiliate me?" he asked.

I smiled slightly.

"Oh no I don't want to, I will"

He gritted his teeth.

"Oh yeah, how?" he asked.

I grabbed his neck and pinned him up against the wall.

"Well now ill leave that choice up to you" I said smiling.

He gasped grabbing at my hand.

"You could walk away with your tail between your legs and go home with no girl on your arm forced or not" I chewed my lip thinking. "Or" I said giving him an option, "I kick you're ass, steal all your clothes because simply I can and leave you in this alley naked" I shrugged. "But its all totally up to you, of course either way is going to leave you humiliated" I let go of him and stepped back letting him decide.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I loved it when they got all defensive because when I left them on their ass in tears it made my day even better and I was already having a shitty day, might as well do something I enjoy.

"So I take it with that response you've chosen the second option" I said.

He stepped away from the wall, he tried to pin me up against the wall behind me but I shoved him away.

"Look boy you can try and over power me but trust me, you can't" I said looking him up and down.

"You clearly don't know who you're dealing with" he swung a lazy fist my way and I ducked stepping away, he stumbled forward head butting the wall.

I let out a laugh.

"Okay okay ill give you a free shot for making me laugh" I said holding my stomach.

He stood up straight rubbing his head looking at me confused.

"oh I'm serious, right here" I said sticking my face out and pointing to my cheek, "free shot since I'm going to be leaving you here in the alley naked-"

He took the shot and pain rippled up my face.

The boy shook his hand and I rubbed my face spitting blood out.

"Stupid bitch" he muttered to himself.

"Good hit" I said clapping, "but see if you had just walked away you might have saved what little pride I'm about to take from you" I said with a smile.

He stood his ground not feeling threatened by me.

I kicked my foot out slamming it into his shin, he gasped bending down and I slammed my fist atop of his head. He hit the ground gasping some more.

"Now thats only the start" I taunted.

The boy stared up at me and his eyes widened, he scrambled away from me got to his feet and sprinted down the alley like he had just seen a monster.

I frowned.

"You're running away?" I called out, "seriously kid?"

I sighed.

"Fine but thats all your pride gone, god you're acting like you just saw a monster" I grumbled, disappointed.

I wiped the blood from my lip and stepped back into someone.

"Oh it wasn't me he was running from" I sighed turning around.

I stared up at Ed.

"Good one Ed" I snapped up at him, "you scared my fun off" I looked around him and Havoc, Al and Danny were behind him. "Are we seriously going to do this again?" I asked them all, "look we can through the motions of you all come after me, making fools of yourself and then lose me or" I stepped aside and motioned for them to keep on walking, "leave me the fuck alone."

They all sighed at me.

"You've lowered yourself to fighting kids?" Ed asked, "and you give them free shots?"

I shrugged.

"Well none of them end up hitting me so I've at least got to give them something for their time" I said.

He crossed his arms.

"Fine!" I snapped, "lets finish this fight that we started earlier" I pulled my jacket off, "you know how much I love a bit of a fist fight" I pointed at the others. "One at a time or the fight will get a little unfair" none of them moved.

"You don't seem to fight fair anyway" Ed grumbled, "and I'm not fighting you."

I threw my hands in the air.

"Then what are you guys doing, like it's not enough I get these kids stalking me but I have you four as well, I've told you before I'm not telling you anything so just give up!"

Ed stepped out of the way.

"You do the honours Danny"

I frowned and Danny stepped forward, he held up a gun pointing at me.

I actually laughed.

"Seriously?" I asked, "you're going to get my brother do the dirty work" I looked at Havoc, "isn't it your department to shoot me if need be not my little brother who wouldn't be able to actually get me if his life depended on it" no one said a word.

I looked at Danny.

"You're not going to shoot me" I said looking at him, "don't be stupid, put the gun down" I sighed at him.

Danny put his finger on the trigger.

Now I raised my eyebrows, this had to be a bluff, my brother wasn't going to shoot me.

"I'm sure everyone expects you to lower your standards to mine because I'm your sister but shooting me isn't going to get you anywhere-"

Danny pulled the trigger.

"You still try and talk yourself out of things I see" Ed spoke up when I stumbled back.

Something hit my arm and pain rippled up my arm.

"The fuck Daniel?!" I spat at my brother in anger, "you actually shot me!"

I pulled out the bullet but it wasn't a bullet and it didn't injure me but it still damn well hurt.

I held up the bullet.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked.

I staggered forward and everything started to spin.

"Holy shit!" I spat holding my arms out trying to regain balance my self.

"It was a tranquilliser dart" Danny said putting the gun away, "we had to slow you down somehow" whatever it was I could feel it circulate around my body.

"You drugged me!" I snapped.

I stumbled to my knees using all my strength just to keep my eyes open.

"Its bad enough that you four stalk me, attack me and now you've drugged me" I hit the ground, "bastards…" I whispered as my eyes fluttered close.


	23. Chapter 18

_**Chapter eighteen**_

 **Lexie's POV**

"She's still breathing, right?" I heard Havoc ask.

I felt fingers touch the pulse on my neck.

"Yeah she's still alive" Al spoke up.

I felt someone hand cuff my wrists.

"Is that honestly necessary?" Danny asked.

"Unless you guys want to fight her to keep her still, the cuffs are necessary" Havoc stated, "now you see what you can get out of her when she wakes up, I'm going outside to wait for Mustang" well that was Havoc out the way, I only had to deal with the three of them.

I shifted groaning slightly, I felt the tension in the air rise.

"What are we going to say to her?" Al whispered.

"Maybe what she's up to" Ed whispered back.

"Oh yeah because she's totally going to tell us since we just drugged her" Danny added.

My eyes fluttered open and Ed and Al were staring at him.

"It was your plan" Ed growled at him.

"Okay okay getting angry at each other isn't going to help" Al said holding his hands up at them, "we need to-"

"I can hear you three!" I snapped at them.

They all jumped and looked my way.

I was slumped on the floor of a house I slightly remembered, half of it was still missing but it was very old looking now. This was where we had brought Gluttony.

"What the hell was in that dart?" I asked trying to sit up properly but my body was still recovering.

"Same stuff they've been using on the chimera's" Danny spoke up.

I pushed up the wall and slid up it, my hands were cuffed in front of me.

"Do I look like the size of a damn chimera?!" I snapped at him.

Danny flinched.

"You could have made me over dose on that stuff!" I added.

Danny held his hands up.

"No, I made sure the stuff was the exact amount a human would need although you are smaller than the average human" he muttered, that did not feel assuring. "anyway it wouldn't be a first you over nearly dosed" he added.

We all stared at him.

"Hey my past misadventures stay in the past!" I snapped pointing at him, "what happened back then stays back then" I threw my hands in the air. "At least I haven't kidnapped anyone! I can't believe you three kidnapped me, this is getting way out of hand!" Now this was going over board, id never thought they'd go to this length of trying to get ahold of me.

"We didn't kidnap-"

"Don't argue with me Al!" I snapped pointing at him, "this is kidnapping because I'm here against my will after you drugged me and I'm cuffed!"

I held my hands up.

"Fucking cuffed guys!"

"Thats for your own safety" Ed mumbled.

I stared at him.

"My own safety?" I asked, "what am I going to do hit myself in the damn head?!" I waved my arms around, "I can still do that if I wanted to, you're a terrible liar, I know I'm cuffed because you three don't know what I'm capable of!"

I saw my gun and daggers on the counter behind them.

"And you searched me while I was knocked out!" I exclaimed.

"That was Havoc, he's the one that doesn't trust you" Ed pointed out.

"We used to be best friends Havoc!" I shouted loud enough for him to hear, "but that doesn't give you the right to search me while I was knocked out!"

"You're a wanted criminal Alexis, I was just doing my job!" He called back.

I gritted my teeth.

"Fuck you!" I called back, "I won't forget this!"

"Nice to see you too Alexis!"

I looked back at the three in front of me, they were watching me like I was going to do something spectacular.

My eyes darted to Danny.

"You drugged me" I growled at him, "and shot me at the same time, thats a whole new low for you."

Danny crossed his arms at me.

"At least I didn't disappear for three years oh and also break out of prison" he replied, I should have seen that one coming.

I pointed at him.

"You know nothing-"

I stepped forward and my knees collapsed under me.

"Yeah I wouldn't try that right now" Ed said grabbing my arm before I hit the ground, "id give it another half an hour before you try getting away from us."

I shoved Ed away and stumbled back against the wall.

"Fine!" I snapped sliding down the wall, "Ill sit here until it wears off and then ill be on my way, you three won't stop me and I sure as hell aint telling you anything" now they had pushed me to a whole other level of stubbornness, I do not take being kidnapped lightly or being drugged for that matter especially when it's my own brother who did it to me.

"Im sure uncle will be able to get something out of you when he gets here" Danny said watching me.

I glanced up at them. I had hurt Danny from the way he was acting but I needed him to stop all of this, it was getting ridiculous and I was shocked Roy was allowing this.

"He's coming here?" I asked.

They all nodded.

Well, now I needed to get out of here.

I wiggled my toes to get my blood pumping quicker and get whatever was in my system out.

"How long do you reckon until he gets here?" I asked them, I started clenching and unclenching my fists. What I needed right now was an adrenalin rush.

"Not long I don't reckon" Ed pointed at me, "but you're not going anywhere, we want answers" I increased my breathing and they were all watching intently. "What are you doing?" Ed asked cautiously, my eyes darted over to the door.

I shot to my feet but tumbled to the ground very quickly, I looked down at my foot stuck in the ground.

i sighed in frustration.

"See this would be more fair if alchemy wasn't involved Al" I muttered against the floor.

"Im sorry Lexie but the Brigadier General wants to speak to you"

I twisted my body on the ground kicking my foot free.

"Oh so you two are working for him again?" I asked, "being his dogs once more?"

Ed pointed at me.

"No we're not his dogs anymore" Ed growled.

"Then whats all this?" I asked, "you guys just doing his dirty work because you're feeling generous?"

"No we're all doing this because we want to know how you managed to break out of central prison and disappear for three years!" Ed snapped grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet, "we want to know what made you decide to do all this!"

I struggled against him but he only held me tighter.

"I can't tell you!" I snapped back, "even if I wanted to I can't!"

"So someone is stopping you?" Ed asked.

I stared up at him.

"What does he have on you Lexie? we can help"

I gritted my teeth.

"He doesn't have anything on me" I growled, "you guys just wouldn't understand" I pulled against Ed but he gripped my other arm.

"Try us"

I shook my head.

"I can't and the moment Roy gets his hands on me then god knows what he's going to do with me, he can't get ahold of me, not yet, I'm not finished" they were all silent for a second. If Roy got ahold of me he would be able to break me with just a few words, he always has and I couldn't risk that at the moment.

"How about this" Ed spoke up, "you tell us and we'll let you go before Mustang gets here" I didn't want to tell them but I might have to. This might be the only way to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

"Brother thats not apart of the plan, we said to Mustang that we would help capture her" Al said stepping forward.

"Thanks Al" I muttered.

Al shrugged at me.

He was following the rules like usual but I needed all of them to understand that by following the rules doesn't always get things done.

"I think I agree with Ed, the moment uncle gets involved Lexie isn't going to talk, I'm sure she's been trained not to talk" well he wasn't wrong there but Roy was the only one who could break me with a few words but I didn't want anyone knowing that.

"And we're not working for Mustang, he's not paying us and he certainly can't tell us what to do anymore, if we want to know then this is the only way she's going do it, right?" Ed asked looking down at me, it was risky and I didn't want to but I had no other option at the moment.

"You promise to let me go after I tell you?" I asked them all, "no matter what it is I tell you even if you're against it?"

They all nodded.

"All right fine but I'm not responsible for what happens after you know" i sighed and looked back at Ed, "and you got my brother involved, you've got to look after him for me-"

"Hey Lexie this was my choice"

I glared at Danny over my shoulder.

"Shut up!" I snapped at him, "I had Cora lying to you for a reason and yet you still wouldn't take her advice!"

Danny froze.

"So Cora had seen you" he whispered.

I looked back at Ed.

"Deal?" I asked, this was going to get me into a lot of trouble but I didn't see any other way out of this.

"Deal" Ed said letting me go.

I exhaled thinking where the best part would be to start from.

"After you had come seen me three years ago" I said to Al, there was a thump outside that sounded like a body hitting the ground and we all froze.

"Good hit little girl!" Someone exclaimed, "you know I'm not sure if I like you or your gorgeous friend better" that was the boy from earlier who got bored with me. Arthur so that meant…

"Would you shut up, you'll blow our cover" I heard Riley growl.

I stepped away from everyone and smiled.

"Sorry boys but deals off, seems like my back up is here" I said with a grin.

All their eyes widened.

I stepped back and they all froze expecting actual back up not a bunch of kids.

"We're here to save you gorgeous!" Arthur exclaimed bursting through the door.

I sighed rolling my eyes while the others watched the kids burst through the door.

"Seriously?" Ed asked, "a bunch of kids?"

I pointed at him.

"You should be the last person estimating a bunch of kids, we used to be kids and we managed a lot" I glanced at the kids, so I might be overestimating these kids but I had to at least make them sound good. "Riley, my brother has a gun get it off me!" I snapped at her.

"Al you deal with the kids I've got Lexie" Ed snapped after me.

Riley tackled Danny to the ground and Al clapped his hands while Ed and I circled each other.

"Oh my god I didn't sign up to fighting an alchemist!" one of the kids exclaimed as hands burst from the wall grabbing them, this was going to be one huge mess.

"Don't let him clap his hands, if you don't let him clap he won't be able to use alchemy" I explained trying to inch over to my stuff that was on the bench.

Ed caught on very quickly.

He jumped at me and we hit the ground. I was still cuffed which made it even harder to fend Ed off, the kids ran circles around Al, freaking out and Riley and Danny were wrestling on the floor like me and Ed.

"Don't do this Alexis!" Ed snapped at me.

I kicked his leg and pain surged through my foot.

"Auto-mail" he sneered at me, "you always seem to forget my left leg is auto-mail."

I scowled up at him.

I twisted my body sliding out from under him and pushed off the ground and on to his back. I wrapped the chain of my cuffs around the front of his neck.

"Brother we're out numbered!" Al exclaimed, these kids didn't know how to fight but they were fast, they had plenty of training running from the military so they were enough to keep Al busy for now.

"Just keep it up until Mustang gets here" Ed snapped grabbing the chain around his neck and standing up, he squished me between his body and the wall behind me. "Give up Lexie, these are just kids and they can't help you only cause mayhem, you should have kept the deal we had but now you've ruined that" Ed snapped at me.

"Lexie I've got the gun!" Riley called out.

Danny knocked it out of her hands and it went skidding across the ground, it was the one with the tranquilliser darts.

Ed and I dived at it.

We both grabbed it at the same time.

"We're not letting you go this time Alexis!" Ed snapped while we wrestled each other for the gun.

I pinned him to the ground sitting on top of him.

"You're just making fools of yourself continually coming after me, just give it up!" I snapped back.

Al managed to pin the last kid to the ground and trap him in it. I had to take control before Al turned on me, I couldn't take both of them at once, I never have been able to and I never will, not when they worked together.

I slammed my fist into Ed's right shoulder and his arm collapsed under him, I pulled the gun out of his hands pointing it at him and Ed froze staring up at me.

"You wouldn't" he growled at me.

Al clapped his hands.

"Don't you dare Alphonse!" I snapped still pointing the gun down at Ed.

Al froze as well.

"Alexis" Ed warned me.

I smiled.

"They're not bullets Ed, they're darts and they'll knock you out, not hurt you" I sneered, "so don't act like id be the worse person in the world if I shot you, you already let my brother do it to me" I said.

I cautiously got off him.

I stepped back and pointed it at Al.

"Let the kids go" I gestured to all the kids pinned to the ground and walls.

"Come on Lexie" Al said taking a step towards me.

"You think I'm kidding!" I snapped at all of them, "I'm not in the mood to play games with any of you, this isn't some stupid game I'm playing!"

I saw Danny shove Riley away and jump at me.

I turned to him and fired, the dart landed in his neck and he staggered forward.

I caught Danny before he hit the ground.

"Dammit Danny" I growled at him.

"Why are you doing this Lexie?" he whispered, his eyes fluttered close and I put him to the ground gently.

"I told you I'm not kidding around" I said standing up straight, "Al let them go!"

Al clapped his hands and put them to the ground.

All the kids staggered to their feet.

"All of you outside" I ordered them.

"But-"

"Did I stutter?!" I snapped at them, "your work here is done, go outside and tell me if you see any cars heading this way."

They all stared at me.

I sighed.

"Don't make me threaten you kids because I'm not in the fucking mood!"

"I still get that kiss from you that your little girl promised, right?" Arthur asked.

I raised my eyebrows at him and glanced at Riley, she shrugged.

"I had to convince them somehow to help me" she sighed.

I pointed the gun at Arthur.

"Outside now!" I snapped.

Arthur held his hands up and him and the rest of the kids went outside.

Ed got to his feet and Al took another step towards me.

I pointed the gun back at Al.

"Clap your hands and you'll end up like him" I said pointing to my brother on the floor.

Al held his hands up.

"I don't want to do this but you two are seriously testing my patience right now" I glanced at Riley. "Grab my stuff" I said pointing to my stuff on the counter, "then wait outside with the others."

She frowned.

"Lexie-"

"Riley do as I say, do I look to be in the mood for you to talk back to me?" I asked.

She sighed.

"No" she moaned at me.

"What are you her mother?" Ed muttered.

I pointed the gun at him.

"Don't get smart" I warned him, "not after you just kidnapped me" I said.

Ed rolled his eyes at me.

Riley grabbed my stuff.

"Go wait outside with the others" this time she didn't reply, she followed my orders.

"Got yourself a mini you I see" Ed said watching Riley go, "she's a real charmer."

Riley spun on her heels.

"What did you say?!" She snapped at him and he laughed slightly.

I sighed. Great now Ed had set Riley off.

"Wow she really is a mini you" Ed laughed.

Riley stormed towards him but I stepped in front of her.

"Don't Riley" I muttered, "he's stirring you up" I told her.

Riley glared up at me.

"He used to do it to me as well-"

"You used to do it back" Ed said interrupting me.

I ignored him.

"If this was anyone else you would have let me fuck them up" Riley grumbled

I pointed at her.

"You can't take these guys" I warned her.

Riley gritted her teeth at me.

"now go outside"

Riley huffed at me and turned around storming out.

I turned around and Ed was right behind me, I leaped away from him and Al clapped his hands putting them to the ground. I jumped out of the way of his attempt at trying to use alchemy to grab me but I tripped backwards pulling the trigger, the dart landed in Al's arm.

Al staggered back and his back hit the wall and slid down it while I scrambled to my feet quickly. I had had enough of this, the only way I was getting away was knocking all of them out.

I pointed the gun back at Ed and he froze.

"Where is the key to the cuffs?"

Ed put his hand in his pocket.

He was glaring at me.

"I know you're pissed at me but you guys have left me with no choice, you put me in a tight spot and I don't enjoy this, using this to get you guys to back off" I said taking a step towards him. "But please just give me the key, let me go and I won't have to shoot you" I said softly.

Ed pulled his hand out of his pocket holding the key.

"Fine" he growled holding his hand out.

I stepped towards him and held my palm out but he dropped the key grabbing my wrist and twirling me around wrapping his arms around me. I pulled the trigger of the gun and one of bullets landed in his leg, I threw the gun away from us and it slid across the ground.

"Ah damn you" Ed gasped, he still held me with what strength he could muster up. I made us walk backwards until Ed hit the wall and we both slid to the ground.

We sat there quiet for a few moments while I waited for the drugs to kick in, I felt his arms loosen around me and I pulled his arms off me but he grabbed my wrist.

"We want to help" he murmured at me.

I kneeled beside him and put my hands on his face making him look up at me.

"I get that and I'm not saying I don't want it but I don't need it Ed" he stared up at me, "I need you to have a little more faith in me, I promise I will explain whats happening soon but now is not the time, trust me please" I insisted. "Im not doing this to get back at anyone and I especially not trying to hurt you or anyone else, I'm doing this for someone else who I owe a lot to but if he knew he'd try and stop me."

Ed tugged me forward making my forehead touch his.

"If I trust you" he whispered still gripping my wrist, "will you promise me that whatever you're doing isn't bad, that you're not going back to that life everyone pulled you out of…"

I closed my eyes and leant against him.

"I promise" I whispered.

Ed let go of me and I pulled back.

"Fine but don't disappoint me, I'm going to trust you now because I at least owe you that for helping get Al's body back but that means one day you will give me an explanation and it better be a good one" he murmured as his eyes slowly closed.

I sighed getting to my feet.

"Don't worry, the last thing I want to do is disappoint you…"

I walked over to the key on the floor and picked it up.

"Car heading this way" Riley called out, I unlocked the cuffs and left them on the ground.

I walked outside and Havoc groaned on the ground.

I bent down and tapped him on the head.

"Be ready because I think Roy's going to lose his shit when he realises you lost me again" Havoc's eyes shot open and I shot to my feet leaping away from him when he tried to grab me.

I ran past everyone.

"I suggest you leg it before we come up against someone that none of us have any chance at beating" they all followed me into the dark forest and back towards Central.


	24. Chapter 19

_**Chapter ninteen**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I had paid off the kids who had helped me get away from Ed, Al and Danny to keep their mouths shut and since they didn't work for Victor they had no clue who I was or why I needed help, Riley had chosen wisely on who to get for back up. They might have been a bunch of kids but they still did the job and they now had some extra money in their pockets.

By the time we made it to Central the sun was rising and my head was killing me, I wasn't sure what was in that dart but whatever it was it was still playing around with my head.

"Now that was a close call" Riley said through a yawn, "I didn't expect them to kidnap you, god that was a bit extreme" not if they thought they were doing the right thing. Trying to protect me and I understood that but they didn't know the whole story and it honestly made me feel guilty not telling them, if anyone deserved to know it was those three.

"They won't bother us for a while" I said rubbing my throbbing head, "Roy might still come after me but the others won't."

Riley looked up at me.

"You sure?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah" I muttered.

Riley smiled.

"You reckon he'll have more faith in you?"

I stared down at her. She had eves dropped on my conversation with Ed.

"You were listening?" I asked.

Riley shrugged with a grin.

"Come on you can't blame me, I was curious to what you would say to him" she stood in front of me walking backwards. "That story you told me about, the two brothers, its about them two, right?" Riley asked. "The golden boys?" I didn't want to argue with her, I was too exhausted.

"Yes" I muttered.

Riley's face lit up.

"I knew it" she said crossing her arms, "if anyone else had done to you what they had you would have completely lost it but with them you didn't, those are the people you care about so much" she paused for a second. "I know I may seem naive but I know what you're doing, why you have those list of names and what you said to him" she said referring to Ed. "That confirmed it but the only thing I don't understand is who you're doing it for, if you're not doing it for them or for yourself, who are you doing it for?"

I stopped and bent down in front of her.

"Don't ask questions like that Riley, you may know what I'm trying to achieve but the person I'm doing it for and the person who's helping me do it are very powerful people, you don't want to get mixed up in this" she stayed quiet listening to me. "If I wanted help from anyone I would have gone straight to the people I trust most but it has nothing to do with them so I wanted them to stay out of it and I sure as hell am not bringing you into it, so for your now safety please stop trying to understand why" I said to her.

Riley nodded.

"Okay fine, ill stop" she sighed walking next to me again, "but does this mean when you've done what you want to do I won't see you again?" I could hear the worry in her voice.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders hugging her.

"No, I'm not going to leave you behind, you've done enough for me and ill return the favour, maybe not now but I will soon" she leant against me, "I'm not going to abandon you Riley."

She smiled up at me.

"So does that mean you will introduce me properly to your brother because that wrestling match was loads of fun"

I stared down at her.

"Don't push it" I warned her.

Riley held her hands up.

"Okay one step at a time" she said as we walked into Victor's mansion, I was so looking forward to going to bed.

"Alexis?"

I turned around pushing Riley to continue up the stairs.

"What Duke?" I asked.

He looked me up and down.

"Getting into fights again?" he asked crossing his arms.

"Something like that" I muttered, "now what do you want?" I asked.

"Victor wants to see you" great, just who I wanted to talk to.

"Cant we do this in the morning?" I asked.

Duke rolled his eyes.

"It is morning, maybe you shouldn't have stayed out all night" he said pointing towards Victor's officer, "he wants to see you now."

I walked into Victor's office dragging my feet along the ground. Victor sat behind his desk like usual and watched as I slumped in the chair opposite his desk.

"Morning" he said looking me up and down.

I rested my head on my fist.

"Morning" I muttered staring at him trying to keep my eyes open, "you summoned me?"

"Are you drunk?" he asked frowning at me.

I sighed.

"No I'm tried" I mumbled, "I made the wrong decision of staying out all night, it's not going to happen again."

Victor leaned forward and looked me up and down.

"Fighting again?" he asked.

"Kind of but like I said it's not going to happen again" I leaned back and slumped further in my chair, "can we make this quick because I might pass out" I said around a yawn. I knew Victor was going to be more patient with me because of yesterdays charade with him having me up against the wall, I could tell he regretted it but he wasn't about to admit it.

"Fine quick it is" he said leaning back in his chair, "we have located Rene Parsons in the East, I want you and Duke to prepare to leave in a few days."

My eyes fluttered close.

"Alexis don't fall asleep on me"

I waved him off.

"Im not I'm just resting my eyes" I muttered, "what am I going to torture out of this guy?" I asked.

"I want to know more about the stone and the syndicate"

I opened my eyes and sat up straight.

"What's the syndicate?" I asked.

Victor pointed at me.

"Something thats none of your business" he growled.

I slumped back in my chair.

"Does Duke really have to come?" I asked, "can't I do that myself?" at least then I could tell him that Rene had no clue about the stone. Then I wouldn't have to worry about Victor trying to make some for himself, that was a situation I didn't want to have to deal with of course Rene actually might not know how they're created. Rene Parsons only implanted them in me and sold them to Victor, he never said he made them.

"Yes, Duke is going with you, now go to bed, you look like a wreck"

I staggered to my feet.

"How long until we leave for East?" I asked.

"Three days so be ready and don't screw it up, I want this information and Duke is going to report any odd behaviour if he thinks you're thinking of betraying us"

I waved Victor off.

"I'm not going to betray you Victor, don't you think if I was going to I would have done it already?" I asked, "its been three years and I'm still here."

he studied me.

"Go to bed"

I turned around and left his office.

"I look forward to our adventure Alexis" Duke sneered when I walked past him.

"Fuck you" I said sticking my finger up at him, "go die in a hole" I stumbled up the stairs and straight to bed.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

The three of us, me, Ed and Al were still slumped up against the wall trying to recover from my darts that Lexie had managed to use against us. Roy was in front of us staring at us, he was not impressed.

"You let her get away again, how can one girl get one over on you like this?" he asked, "please explain this to me because I am honestly baffled."

I managed to sit up properly.

"She out numbered us" Al spoke up, "we had everything under control until we got out numbered then it kind of went down hill from there" he admitted.

Roy crossed his arms.

"How does one girl out number you?" he asked.

"We were followed sir" Havoc spoke up from the door way, "we thought no one was following us but we were obviously wrong" he added.

"They were kids for god sake" Roy looked at Ed.

"You're the kid who defeated Father and you let Alexis and a bunch of kids over power you?" he asked.

"Look like I said before, she's not the same, I haven't trained properly in a while and clearly she's been training the moment she escaped prison" Ed snapped.

He tried to sit up and ended up falling on top of Al.

"For gods sake when does this stuff wear off?!" He snapped as Al pushed him back up, "I can barley sit up!"

Roy looked at me.

"I put this damn thing in the no Lexie cupboard for a reason" he said holding up the gun, "you're lucky she left it behind because the mayhem she could cause and get away with would be ridiculous!"

I rolled my eyes.

"We needed something to keep her still and it worked until she got ahold of it" I grumbled.

Roy rubbed his head.

"Did you at least get anything out of her?" he asked.

We all shook our heads.

"Did she say anything to you brother?" Al asked, "you were the last one she drugged."

Ed crossed his arms.

"No" he muttered, "she didn't say anything" none of us mentioned that the last person Lexie wanted to see was Roy, that might have urged him further to go after her and I think what we had done to her today was going to put her on high alert. She wasn't happy with us and the way she acted told us that it was going to take more to get anything out of her.

"Well I think the Fuhrer has got wind of what we've been up to" Roy muttered.

All our eyes widened.

"He wants to talk to all of us tomorrow"

I pointed to myself.

"All of us?" I asked.

"Yes all of us" Roy muttered, "whatever it is I have a feeling its about Alexis" we all went quiet.

"And what are we supposed to say to him if he asks?" I asked.

"Leave that to me, ill do all the talking and then we can continue trying to capture her with an actual plan" he sighed.

"Im not doing it anymore" Ed spoke up, "I'm leaving her alone, if she doesn't want our help then I'm staying out of it."

We all looked at him. That was out of character.

"Why?" Roy asked, "why are you all of a sudden saying you don't want to know anymore?"

Ed shrugged.

"Alexis made it very clear that she doesn't want anything to do with us, if she's turned her back on us then so be it but I'm not going to be apart of her arrest" Ed growled, "I know she's done some pretty terrible things but it's not my problem, she's your problem."

Roy crossed his arms.

"What did she say to you?" he asked, "you were the last one to speak to her, I want you to remember how manipulative and persuasive she can be but whatever she's doing is obviously going to get her into more trouble than she's-"

"How do you know that?" I asked.

Roy pointed at me.

"Danny don't" he warned me, I was starting to get feeling in my body and I sat up straight.

"No, you're acting as if she committed mass murder, she was manipulated as a kid to kill those people and then she gets put in prison without having a say and we don't go see her, I'm not surprised she's pissed off at us" I staggered to my feet.

"My sister is not a solider for you to order around, I know you're angry she managed to break out of prison and took your name down with her" I snapped. "You're the Brigadier General and have fixed that now so why do you hate her so badly?" I asked, "I get she was a handful the times when you had to actually lock her in a room with you to get over the drug withdrawals and the stealing but doesn't that show you that it was your attention she wanted!" I snapped.

Roy sighed rubbing his head.

"I don't hate her, I just don't want her to kill herself"

I held my hands out.

"If this is your way of caring then you're doing a terrible job at it" I stated.

Roy turned around waving me off.

"You three can walk back to Central, the walk will do you good" he said walking off.

My mouth fell open.

"Good one Danny" Ed sighed, "now we're walking back to Central because you pissed Mustang off."

I turned around facing him.

"What did Lexie say?" I asked, "I know you were lying to him."

Al looked at Ed also convinced Lexie had said something.

"She wanted me to trust her and that she promised she was going to explain to us what she was up to soon"

I stared at Ed.

"she was very convincing so I'm going to believe her and I think you should give her a chance too"

I crossed my arms.

"Fine but I'm not waiting another three years, she better explain soon" I muttered under my breath.


	25. Chapter 20

_**Chapter twenty**_

 **Lexie's POV**

"Lexie!" Riley whispered furiously bouncing on the bed, "Lexie!"

I rolled over stuffing my face into the pillow.

"What?" I groaned, "I'm sleeping go away…"

Riley bounced some more.

"You remember that weird old lady who knew your name in the street?" she asked.

I rolled onto my back.

"Yes" I sighed with my eyes still closed, "what about her?" I asked.

"She came to me today" I opened one eye, "she was looking for you" I sat up and Riley held a note in her hand. "She wanted me to give this to you but no one is allowed to know-"

I snatched the piece of paper from her hand.

"Who are you meeting?" she asked.

It said Bradley mansion.

"Im not quite sure" I muttered stumbling out of bed, "but I need to go, cover for me and don't follow me, this is different from what happened last night" I stated.

"Yesterday night" she corrected.

I frowned.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.

"A while"

I waved her off pulling my pants and my jacket on.

"Cover for me" I said pulling some money out of my pocket, "and buy yourself something nice."

Riley smiled snatching the money from my hand.

"Yes sir!" She saluted shoving the money in her pocket, I ignored her walking out of my bedroom.

Downstairs Duke was standing outside Victor's office guarding it which meant there was something important going on in there.

Duke watched me.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Out, I need some fresh air" I lied, "I don't feel well."

Duke scrunched his face up at me.

"You better not be sick when we have to leave tomorrow" he grunted, "I don't want to put up with your sick ass" I stuck my finger up at him and he did it in return. "And hurry up and get over it because Victor wants to talk to us soon about how everything is going down."

I waved him off.

"I'm serious Alexis, don't fuck this up"

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder.

"The only one who could fuck this up is you doing something stupid" I shut the door behind me before he managed to reply, I loved insulting him but now wasn't the time, I didn't have time to fight him. I had to see who was waiting for me and what they wanted.

I put my hood up and stuck my hands in my pockets walking down the street, I took the back streets and kept an eye out for anyone following me but it seemed Victor had more trust in me at the moment. No one seemed to be following me.

* * *

I didn't know why he wanted to meet at King Bradley's mansion, maybe it was to show me that he was still in charge of this operation but it felt like an ambush especially in the middle of the day. I made my way to the mansion wishing I had prepared myself a little better, I was still half asleep without any protection but my dads jacket.

I walked the perimeter of the mansion watching each solider and memorising their routine every five minutes. I stopped at the end of the drive way recognising the tall slender solider standing at the front door, it had to be the guy I had met up with to give my update to a few weeks ago.

I walked towards him watching my surroundings making sure no one else saw me. When I reached the tall blonde soldier he opened the front door.

He looked me up and down.

"I hope you don't have any weapons on you" he said looking me over once more, I wasn't stupid enough to bring weapons to a meeting like this not unless I wanted to look suspicious.

"You can search me if you want" I said holding my arms out, "its been a while since I've had a boy feel me up" he didn't find me funny especially not being called a boy.

"Go up stairs and it's the third door on your left" he said letting me through, "and you're missing out if you're only letting boys feel you up" he shot back. He closed the door before I had time to retaliate.

"Smart ass" I laughed to myself. Servants were rushing around the place but they took no notice to me.

I wondered up the stairs in front of me keeping to myself and making sure I went unnoticed, I turned left down the narrow hallway hoping to god I was going the right way.

"Who are you?" I froze in my spot, "you don't look like a servant or a solider" I slowly turned around to face the young voice behind me.

I clenched my jaw shut from actually screaming and froze all my muscles from punching Selim Bradley in the face. Last time I had seen him, he had tried to kill me. Several times. And here he stood looking at me curiously and innocently.

I looked at the shadows around us waiting for them to move but they didn't, they stayed still like normal shadows.

"Master Selim" A woman said rushing towards us and scooping him into her arms, "I told you up here was out of bounds today" the woman didn't even glance my way.

She walked off with Selim while he watched me over her shoulder.

I finally exhaled not realising I was holding my breath.

I spun on my heels and walked down the hallway breathing steadily and calming myself down. Once I found the room I needed to be in I rushed in slamming the door behind me.

"I nearly hit the kid" I said quickly, "I can't believe this is the place you decide to do this and then I run into Selim fucking Bradley and I swear to god I nearly hit the kid" I had my eyes squeezed shut. Selim wasn't my only bone I had to pick, "also can we discuss the fact I got kidnapped because I don't take being kidnaped lightly!"

I opened my eyes to glare at Grumman.

"Alexis" Grumman spoke up.

"No no" I said pointing at him, "you either tell them or I will, I've been attacked on the street and kidnapped for gods sakes Grumman" it had been a year since I had last seen him. "I can't keep it up, I have no idea what they're going to do next and I can't tell them that I'm bloody undercover for you because you don't trust them…" my voice trailed off when I realised it wasn't just us in the room.

Guns were pointed my way.

"Don't shoot!" I exclaimed putting my hands up. I was unarmed and not expecting an audience. Maybe this really was an ambush.

I glanced around the room in shock, I had only just woken up and had no idea how to react to the other shocked faces around me. I could see the amusement on Grumman's face, not so much on everyone else's by my sudden appearance.

"Roy get your subordinates to lower their guns, I'm with him" I growled pointing at the Fuhrer, no one moved and I glared at Grumman who had a smile on his face.

"Guns are not necessary" Grumman finally spoke up before I actually got a bullet in my head, everyones guns were lowered cautiously. "Come here" Grumman gestured me to come closer.

I walked quickly over to him. I bent down next to him.

"Please don't tell me that I just ruined three years of undercover work because you didn't give any indication we had company" I whispered furiously at him.

Grumman chuckled slightly.

"No, I thought it was time to tell them"

I stared at him.

"And you couldn't have told me that before they decided to kidnap me" I growled at him, "I could have avoided the whole problem if I was allowed to tell them."

Grumman leaned back in his chair behind the desk.

"It was the kidnapping that I suddenly realised I was going to have to tell them, they were really starting to pull one over on you" I stared at him in disbelief, the only way he would have known is if he had someone watching me.

"Have you had people watching me?" I asked.

"You seemed to have been quite unsettled lately, I'm assuming you have more to report than shooting the Emperor of Xing"

I stared at him.

"You have been having me watched" I threw my hands in the air, "I can't win with anyone, no one seems to trust me!" I exclaimed, "every move I make I'm always being watched by someone!"

"I had to make sure you weren't over using your privileges" that was his way of saying he didn't really trust me.

"What privileges?" I asked, "oh the ones of you can kill someone if need be to keep your cover but don't over do it?" I asked repeating one of his rules.

"Can someone please explain what is going on?" Roy spoke up.

I turned around facing him.

"Incase you haven't been listening" I pointed out distastefully, "I've been working-" I paused mid sentence staring at him, finally getting a good look at me. "What the hell is on your face?" I asked.

I looked over at Danny who had been very quiet yet staring at me with Ed and Al.

"You let him grow that thing?" I asked changing the subject entirely.

"Whats wrong with my moustache?" Roy asked.

Danny shook his head.

"I disapproved but I don't have the same persuasive skills you have" Danny admitted, "he said I wouldn't understand until I could grow my own" Danny frowned, "which I was quite offended by…"

I glanced at Hawkeye.

"Come on you honestly let him grow that thing, its terrible" I saw her hold back the smile that was trying to spread across her face.

"I told you sir" she muttered to him.

Roy's face hardened.

"How about we stay on topic" Roy growled.

"Of what?" I asked, "of that hideous thing on your face that you call moustache?" there were slight snickers through the room.

"Well you haven't changed" Roy growled.

"Changed?!" I snapped, "ill change when you shave that thing, I don't want to be related to you while you have that thing on your face-"

Roy snapped his fingers and flames burst around my head.

I ducked out the way.

"And my appearance is suddenly your concern?!" Roy snapped back getting to his feet.

My mouth fell open.

"What the hell?!" I snapped back, "you nearly burnt my hair off!"

I took a step towards him.

"Well someone had to do something about it, have you even looked in a mirror today!" I should have seen that one coming.

"No I haven't" I muttered patting my hair down, "I just kinda woke up, I was still recovering from that shit that you shot me with" I said pointing at Danny. "How could you let him have a tranquilliser gun?" I asked Roy, "he shot me, I thought the goal was to make sure he doesn't turn out like me!"

I pointed at Ed.

"And I can't believe you let him do it then kidnap me!" I added.

Ed held his hands up.

"Im not getting into this family reunion, this is between you three" he said gesturing to me, Danny and Roy.

I looked at Roy.

"So I get my ass kicked for stealing your guns but Danny just gets a tranquilliser gun" now we were going off topic but this needed to be discussed.

"He found it in your room and I didn't give it to him" Roy said pointing at me, "I put it in the no Lexie cupboard yet he went ahead and broke the lock!"

I sighed.

"Danny you don't break the lock because then its noticeable, you pick the lock-"

"Alexis!" Roy scolded me.

I threw my hands in the air.

"Well if he's going to do it he might as well do it right anyway I can't believe you still have that damn cupboard, even I used to still get into it and it was named the no Lexie cupboard!"

Grumman cleared his throat.

"You should have warned me they were all going to be here" I said turning back to him, "maybe then I would have been prepared for this and his moustache" the moustache was a very big shock. It wasn't a good look for Roy, it made him look old.

"There is nothing wrong with my moustache" Roy muttered under his breath, there were grumbles of agreements with me but no one actually spoke up.

"So you're actually working for the Fuhrer?" Al asked, and finally someone had the sense to ask.

"Yes" I said turning back around, "I couldn't tell you guys that I was undercover because that went against our agreement" I said pointing at Grumman. "I had to keep our agreement otherwise I would be right back in that cell I was in three years ago" I wish Grumman had warned me about this, I didn't have time to explain all this. The longer I was the more suspicious Victor and Duke would get.

"So wait, you actually didn't break out of Central Prison?" Ed asked.

I raised my eyebrows surprised he'd actually believed it.

"I knew it was too good to be true" he pointed at me.

I crossed my arms.

"You believed it as much as everyone else" I shot back, of course the whole thing was staged. Victor had to believe I had broke out and come crawling back to him so he would believe I honestly wanted nothing to do with the military. Well I didn't want to be working for them but I needed the back up to take Victor down, it worked for both me and Grumman. And Central prison was kind of impossible to escape from.

"I still don't trust the kid" I heard Breda grumble from the corner of the room.

I glanced over at him.

Him, Havoc, Fury and Falman were staring at me… well everyone was staring at me. I was the centre of attention and I actually wasn't enjoying it.

"I knew she wasn't all that bad" Havoc spoke up.

I smiled at them.

"Woof" was all I said in return, Havoc knew what I meant by that and he frowned at me.

"She's still irritating though" he grumbled crossing his arms.

"And a brat" Breda added, I rolled my eyes at them. They could be just as childish as me at least I wasn't one of Roy's puppies unlike them.

"So let me get this straight" Roy spoke up getting over my appalled reaction to his ridiculous moustache and sitting back down, he took no notice to my insult at his subordinates. "You're not actually a wanted criminal but you are working for the Fuhrer pretending to work for the biggest drug lord in Amestris and for what?" he asked, "to get yourself killed?"

I knew Roy wouldn't agree to this, thats why I agreed with Grumman to not tell Roy. It was easier to make him believe I had really been lost but it was Danny, Ed and Al I had a hard time convincing.

"She's the only one who can earn this mans trust the quickest and help me take him down" Grumman stepped in for me, "we don't even know what the man looks like, he's just a name that everyone seems to be afraid of" of course I knew what he looked like but the military couldn't take my word for it. I was someone they wouldn't trust even if the Fuhrer believed me, he'd have a hard time convincing everyone else, he needed hard proof and thats what I was here to get.

"Sir she's just a kid"

I gritted my teeth.

"I am not, did I get tried as a kid when I got put in prison?" I asked, "no I got done as an adult!"

I threw my hands in the air.

"I don't have time for this" I looked back at Grumman, "look I don't have all the names yet but I have to go, I can't be sitting around here all day trying to explain myself-"

"Why you?" Roy asked, "why do you always get yourself into situations like this?"

I gritted my teeth turning back to him.

"You go and send someone else to do the job and see how far you get" I snapped in frustration, "none of you know what the man looks like but me, I've dealt with him personally and no one can gain his trust quicker" I paused taking in a deep breath.

"The only reason why I can get so close to him is because before I came along he had a wife and daughter but they died, how ill never know but for some reason he saw them in me" I tugged on my hair. "Maybe it's the way I look but the deadliest man alive right now here in this country has a soft spot for me, I can tell you it wasn't easy crawling back up that chain to gain his trust, I got my head kicked in and other things you couldn't imagine because I had to prove I really did escape prison. That I'm up there on the wanted criminals list because everyone believes I'm a psychopathic killer and I'm sorry your name went down with me but while this man still sits on his throne of drugs and dead bodies while wearing a mask over his face, how good of a Fuhrer do you think you will be in the future?" I asked him.

Roy was climbing the ladder to the Fuhrer very quickly and the moment Grumman retired there is a very large chance Roy would take his place but until then, he had to sit back and wait.

"She's not taking him down because I asked her to or to be able to escape prison, she's doing it because she knew that if anyone could take him down before you took my place as Fuhrer it was her" Grumman spoke up. "She didn't have to take my deal that I offered but she did, in all honesty sitting in prison would have been easier instead going back to the lifestyle she's gone back to" Grumman admitted.

I regretted all the hardship I had put Roy through as a kid, I hadn't understood that he had given up parts of his life for me and Danny but now I could see it. The times I had gotten him demoted for causing trouble simply because I could, I owed everything to my uncle and the only way I could think of to repay him is taking the man down who could make Roy's life hell, of course it is a bonus for me to take down the man who had destroyed me in the first place.

"Although you didn't have to arrest me" I pointed out to Grumman, "I was the least of your problems back then but you knew id take your offer instead of being stuck in a cell for three years" Grumman smiled but didn't say anything. He knew id feel bad about being arrested and taking Roy's name down with me, Roy could still recover from that but I could also do something for him that would help in the long run.

"But even if you take down the infamous Victor Sinclair someone will just rise up and take his place" Roy added, "you might be able to cut off the head of the snake but it will just grow another head."

I pulled out the little note book full of names.

"Maybe so but I didn't spend three years working for that man to be taken down and have someone else take his place, every name that is in here works under Victor except I'm not done, I don't have them all" I felt Grumman eyeing the book in my hands. "And you're not getting it from me until you hold up your end of the bargain" I pointed at Grumman.

"I said I would if you could give me what I wanted"

I put the little book away, the deal was if I helped take Victor down all charges would be dropped against me.

Arms wrapped around me and I nearly fell over.

"I knew there was more to this" Danny whispered hugging me tighter, this was the first time I had been up close to him in three years and I couldn't believe how much he had grown. He wasn't my little brother anymore, he was as big as me, "I knew you wouldn't have left without a good reason" he stuffed his head into my neck hunching over slightly.

What was I kidding, my sixteen year old brother was bigger than me and I had missed him more than anything even if he did get on my nerves a lot.

I wrapped my arms around his chest squeezing him tightly.

"You've grown" I whispered against him, "you've grown so much and I missed it" I felt a lump in the back of my throat holding my tears back.

"But you're back now, that's all that matters" I let go of him and pulled back. I wasn't back yet, I wasn't finished. I couldn't come back until I had finished what I was set out to do. Ruin Victor Sinclair.

Danny frowned at me for letting go.

"You're coming back, right?" He asked.

I opened my mouth to reply but I was quickly squished up against Danny again by a new pair of arms.

"Yes hug time!" Al exclaimed hugging me and Danny tightly.

I sighed smiling.

"No Al" I laughed slightly looking up at him, he had a huge grin that showed his relief. I guess Danny wasn't the only one glad that I actually wasn't working for Victor. "I don't have time for this, I have to go" neither of them let go of me.

"There is always times for hugs" Al insisted.

I looked at Ed.

"Please come get your brother before he breaks me"

Ed held his hands up.

"Im not getting involved, thats all on you" well Ed wasn't going to be any help.

I managed to escape and stepped away from them.

"I seriously have to go" I paused, "actually I do have something id like to ask" I said turning back to Grumman. "There's something thats got Victor's heckles up, he wants me and his other psychopathic dog to go after one of your men you've hidden in the East to question him about the syndicate" I explained. "Do you know what the syndicate is?" I asked.

Grumman went deadly quiet staring at me.

"Okay… thats not a good response, what is it?" I asked.

"You can't let him find out anything, how does he even know about that?!" Grumman snapped, that response put everyone on edge.

"Rene Parsons is the name I have, what is the syndicate?" I asked, "and you can't tell me that he can't find out, I leave tomorrow with one of his guys to probably go torture this guy to get information out of him and I could blow my cover trying to stop whatever information we find out to give to Victor. Im so close to getting him that I can't afford to let one guy ruin this" I insisted.

"If he gets his hands on the Syndicate then your mission will officially be over, no one will be able to catch him"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Then what is it Grumman, what is this Syndicate?" I asked.

"The syndicate is a program to recruit former officers from this country, supply them with a new identity and use them to surgically remove enemies at home and abroad. Its operating budget, which is a ledger, is hidden somewhere in Amestris that only one man knows the location which is Rene Parsons and thats why we hid him, the syndicate would make whoever had the information judge, jury and executioner with zero accountability, I rejected it the moment I came into this position and informed the whole thing was shut down but I guess not if someone else has got wind of it…"

We all stared at Grumman.

"Something like that exists?" Roy asked, "why would someone create that?"

"For more power" Grumman muttered, "when Bradley was in power he had created this for whatever reason was necessary so when he was killed and I went into to power the idea was brought to me, I wanted it shut down effectively but it seems it hasn't been."

I put my hand to my head.

"And what would happen if Victor got ahold of this ledger?" I asked.

"He could do a lot of damage to this country and the countries surrounding us, he would have as much power as me with a lot of unregistered bank accounts with a lot of money"

I shook my head. This just complicated things.

"Look I can't stop him because ill blow my cover and I'm not about to blow three years of cover for something that wasn't my fault but I leave tomorrow for the East, get someone to beat me there. I don't care who but make it someone good because Victor is sending his best after it but I have to go-"

There was a knock at the door and the guy who had let me in stuck his head in the door.

"Theres some kid scouting out the perimeter"

Everyone looked at me.

"I wasn't followed, I checked like several-" I stopped mid sentence, "is it a girl with short blonde hair?" I asked.

The guy nodded.

It was Riley.

"Im actually going to give that child brain damage" I growled.

"So you were followed?" Roy asked.

"No she already knew where I was going, she's not a threat, ill deal with her since I've got to go now anyway" I growled, "and get someone to beat me to Rene Parsons if you don't want the information getting out" I told Grumman. "I didn't sign up for that shit, thats on you because you didn't shut down the whole thing properly" I said walking towards the door.

"Alexis" Roy spoke up quickly.

I spun around ready to snap at him for whatever he had to say to me.

"don't die, your loss would break my heart…"

I choked on air nearly tripping over nothing. I froze for a second then looked at him stunned. I was not expecting that at all.

Roy wasn't looking at me, instead he was staring out the window and by everyone else's expression I wasn't the only one stunned by his sudden reaction. Except for Hawkeye and Grumman, they had oddly the same expression of their face... It was a smug look of satisfaction.

"What the hell am I supposed to say to that?" I finally said breaking the tension in the room.

Roy sighed.

"Just don't die" he muttered.

Roy glanced at me.

"Well go on, you've got a job to do" he said waving me off.

I scowled at him turning away and shoved the guy who was standing at the door out the way leaving the room. I couldn't believe Roy pulling something like that on me, how was I supposed to respond to something like that especially when he said it so out of the blue catching me off guard.

"Wait Lexie"

I turned around and arms wrapped around me.

"I don't take back anything but I'm sorry I didn't trust you in the first place" with all this hugging I couldn't help but hug Ed back.

"So you don't take back the kidnapping?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Nope you deserved it but I am sorry" he muttered hugging me tighter, "I really thought you had betrayed us but now it makes sense even if I don't agree with it" I wanted to explain myself that this was the only way I thought I could repay Roy but I didn't have time, I had to go. The longer he hugged me the harder it was going to be for me to leave.

"Ed I have to go" I said softly, I know if my brother hadn't been so persistent Ed would have given up because that was what I wanted even if it hurt.

"I know I know" he still didn't let go, "just becarful and for gods sake don't die… Yeah?" finally he let go of me and I had to force myself to step back.

"You as well?" I asked rolling my eyes, "why does everyone think I'm going to die?"

He raised his eyebrows and I smiled slightly.

"Of course I'm not going to die, both you and Roy need to have a little more faith in me" I said winking at him.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Smart ass" he muttered.

"Somethings never change" I said waving him off.

I rushed out of the house before I bumped into Selim Bradley again. Riley was creeping around the side of the mansion.

"Girl I'm going to give you brain damage, I paid you not to come after me as well, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" I snapped.

Riley jumped at my voice then smiled.

"Oh hey there you are" she smiled at me, "I couldn't help myself, I had to show you what I actually bought."

I held out my hand.

"Give me the money back" I insisted.

"But I used it to buy something"

I glared at her.

"No you didn't, whatever you got you stole now give me my money back"

Riley dug out the money from her pocket.

"Fine" she huffed, "but I'm not showing you anymore" she grumbled.

I whacked her across the head.

"I wish you'd do as your told sometimes!" I snapped at her.

She crossed her arms and stared at the ground stubbornly walking beside me.

"Hypocrite" she muttered to me, well I couldn't argue back there.


	26. Chapter 21

_**Chapter twenty-one**_

 **Danny's POV**

It made me happy to think that Lexie hadn't turned her back on us and what she was doing was actually good, it seemed like she was still trying to be that good person even if she had to pretend to be bad for a little while longer. I could tell Roy was angry with her but I think she knew he would be, he didn't want her help to be a better Fuhrer, he wanted to do that on his own and I think he was angry at himself that Lexie felt the need to owe him.

Although what Lexie was doing was dangerous but she wouldn't be my sister if she wasn't doing something dangerous, for better or for worse she needed to take this man down if it was to help uncle or to help herself, someone had to do the job.

"The information about the Syndicate has to stay secret until I know its been dealt with" Grumman spoke up, "this can't be handled lightly" like Lexie had said. She wasn't going to break her cover because someone hadn't done what Grumman had ordered, she was going to do what Victor Sinclair ordered her to do until she had everything she needed to take him down.

"What are we going to do about it sir?" Roy asked

"What she suggested we should do, beat her to it" Grumman replied, "I know the whereabouts of Rene Parsons but not where the Ledger actually is, can I leave you in charge of getting this before Alexis or anyone else gets their hands on it?"

Roy saluted the Fuhrer.

"Yes sir"

Grumman stood up and everyone saluted him.

"Good" now the next questions was who was going to beat my sister.

When Grumman left Roy turned to everyone.

"You heard the Fuhrer, whoever does it has to be good and know how to kick Lexie's ass if they come up against her, right now she's our enemy and we can't let her get the information" no one said a word and finally Ed sighed.

"All right ill do it, no one else is willing to go up against her" Ed said stepping forward.

Al nodded.

"Ill help as well" I saw the smirk spread across Roy's face, he had predicted that. None of his subordinates were going to go up against my sister, who ever it was had to know how to actually fight her.

"I will as well"

The smirk was wiped off Roy's face.

"No you're not, you're going back home" Roy said pointing at me.

I moaned.

"But they get to go" I whined pointing at Ed and Al, "why can't I do something heroic?"

Roy pointed to the door.

"Home now!" He ordered me, he was treating me like he treats Lexie.

"But-"

"Now!"

I crossed my arms turning away.

"Fine" I huffed walking out the door, looks like I was going to take a Lexie approach to this and do it against my uncles will. It wasn't fair, when everyone was my age they were running around and having the time of their lives, why couldn't I?

Why couldn't I try and do something heroic in my life for once instead of being just the nerd everyone likes to call me. It was time to step up my game.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

I was glad that everyone now knew I wasn't actually working for Victor again but I had to hope they got the idea that I was undercover and I couldn't have any contact with them, I was so close to taking him down that nothing right now could cost me my cover, not even this syndicate. I just had to hope who ever beats me to it is either prepared to fight me if we cross paths or really fast because with both me and Duke, we might not like each other at all but we were Victor's best for a reason. Sure we might not be alchemists or be able to do fancy tricks but I was speed and he was strength, Victor knew who to choose to do this job and that was us.

"You two think you can handle this?" Victor asked, "I don't want any screw ups" neither of us were happy that we actually had to work together.

"I won't screw up, it's her you have to worry about" Duke muttered.

I glared at him over my shoulder.

"If anyone is going to screw up its you and that extra chromosome you're missing!" I snapped defensively.

Duke barred his teeth at me like a dog.

"I have all of whatever that is" he growled at me.

I laughed.

"Idiot-"

Victor's hand hit his desk making both of us jump.

"How old are you two?!" Victor snapped.

We both stared at him not sure if it was a real question or a hypothetical one.

"Go on tell me!" He snapped.

"Twenty-one" I muttered, Victor was making us sound like idiots but Duke was good at doing that.

"Thirty" Duke muttered.

Victor held his hands out.

"Then act like it, I don't want you two fucking this up because you can't get along" he said pointing his fingers at us, "you can fight each other all you want while you're here but don't go doing it in public, the last thing you want to do is draw attention."

I crossed my arms and Duke pointed at me.

"How are we supposed to go out in public anyway?" Duke asked, "theres posters all over Central with her wanted face on it, so there will probably be the same in East" Duke growled.

Victor leaned back sighing.

"Alexis don't make yourself so recognisable, we don't want a repeat of the Xing Emperor event"

I crossed my arms.

"Yeah all right" I muttered, "ill wear a hat or something."

Victor looked at Duke.

My eyes widened.

I knew that look, that was him saying do it. Before I could react Duke grabbed my pony tail with one hand and pulled out a knife cutting my hair off.

I leaped away from him and my hair fell to my shoulders.

"What the fuck?!" I spat at them clutching my badly cut hair, "you didn't even do a damn good job!"

"Now you do look like some savage" Duke chuckled to himself letting go of my hair in his hand, it floated to the ground.

I leaped up on the chair I was sitting on and slammed my foot into his chest.

Duke slammed into the wall behind him.

"You fucking asshole!" I spat in anger.

I turned to Victor.

"If you wanted me to cut my hair you should have let me do it myself!" I shouted in rage.

I leaped off the chair and leaned over the deck.

"I would have cut it if you are that worried someone will recognise me but now I look ridiculous-"

Victor's hand wrapped around my neck shutting me up.

"Shut up" Victor growled at me, "you look fine now stop acting like a child and get over it" he let go of me and I stumbled away from him.

I turned around and stormed out not before Duke got his little bit in.

"Savage" he laughed to himself.

I turned around slammed my fist as hard as I could into his face.

Duke stumbled to the ground and pain rippled along my fist.

"Ah stupid bitch" he gasped holding his face.

I slammed my foot into his gut and he gasped again.

"Alexis!" Victor roared.

"Yeah I'm leaving!" I snapped back storming out.

I clenched my fists.

Damn bastards thinking they could take it into their hands to cut all my hair off and just because my hair was short didn't mean no one was going to recognise me. Stupid male logic.

I stormed into my room and Riley snorted the moment she saw me.

"Your hair-"

"I know!" I snapped at her.

Riley held her hands up.

"What happened?" she asked cautiously.

"Duke took matters into his own hands" I growled running my fingers through it.

"Oh damn" she muttered, "he didn't even do a good job…"

I glared at her.

"I'm just saying" she added quickly.

"He's such an asshole" I muttered looking in the mirror, it looked like someone had hacked at my hair with a knife, well okay so someone had.

"I can make it look better" Riley offered.

I pointed at her.

"No one else is touching my hair!" I exclaimed trying my best to tie it up, little strands fell around my face, I pushed them behind my ears, "it'll grow back" I muttered sitting on the bed.

Riley shuffled closer to me.

"So?" she asked.

I glanced at her leaning back.

"So what?" I asked.

"You're leaving tomorrow, right?" she asked.

I nodded.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"You will do what you usually do, sell drugs and do what Victor tells you but stay out of trouble because I can't cover for you if I'm not here"

I looked at her.

"Got it Riley?" I asked. I didn't want to leave her here in Victor's hands but I didn't really have a choice, she couldn't come with us.

"Why can't I come?" she asked, "you seriously don't want to be stuck with Duke by yourself, he's such a creep."

I shook my head.

"No you can't come, Victor is sending us for a reason and if you knew what we were going after it would just get you into a lot of trouble" I crossed my arms. "Its gotten me into enough trouble" I muttered, "and as much as I hate Duke I don't have a choice, I have to go with him and I hope he plays by Victor's rules and doesn't decide to do things his way" if anyone was going to screw this up it was Duke. I had passed my faze of not doing as I'm told but Duke hasn't, sometimes he takes things into his own hands and that never ends well.

Riley went quiet for a second.

"Okay fine but don't die" she grumbled crossing her arms.

"So everyone keeps telling me" I grumbled back, I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to help Victor get his hands on this much power but I didn't have a choice, if I wanted to keep my cover up then I had to do what he told me. I had to give him the Syndicate.


	27. Chapter 22

_**Chapter twenty-two**_

 **Danny's POV**

It came in handy being the innocent one in the family, it meant that when I was acting strange everyone over looked it, like when Roy asked this morning why I was packing. I told him it was an easier way to clean my room, he stood there for a few minutes staring at me then decided not to question it. He went to work and I waited for him to leave, I knew if I wanted to help I had to catch the same train Ed and Al were going to get.

It wasn't a big secret since I heard Roy arguing with Ed on the phone about it this morning then came to a compromise that the earlier they leave the better.

So I put my hoodie on and headed out on my mission. I was a man on a mission.

"You're going to follow your sister with the other two, right?"

I jumped at the voice beside me.

I glanced beside me and Riley smiled up at me. Her mismatched eyes were the most prominent features about her, next was her mischievous smile she seemed to always wear, it always made you think she was up to something.

"Don't worry I'm not here to stop you or anything" she insisted.

I raised one eyebrow at her.

"I want to make sure she doesn't get hurt" Riley added quietly.

I frowned at her.

"Why do you care?" I asked, "you work for my sister, why would you care about the person who makes you sell things you shouldn't?"

"Because she's all I've got as well" Riley said crossing her arms, "she's looked after me when she didn't have to, look we're not here to talk about me" she sighed. "You are going after her, right?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, well I'm not supposed to be but I'm going to anyway…"

Riley was smirking up at me.

"Bad boy" she giggled, I wasn't sure if she was flirting with me or making fun of me. "Anyway" she said getting to the point, "Lexie left last night, she didn't get time to tell anyone so I thought I should probably let someone know and" Riley paused sighing, "I had no idea who I was supposed to tell and then I ran into you" she wriggled her eyebrows at me, "must be fate."

I frowned at her some more, confused.

"Are you flirting with me?" I asked.

Riley held on to my arm smiling up at me with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Maybe I am" she whispered up at me, "don't tell your sister though because she'll get mad and I don't want to deal with mad Lexie…"

I shook my head.

"Mad Lexie is bad Lexie"

Riley nodded.

"Yeah no kidding" she muttered, "look you should get going because if you guys are going to stop her then I suggest you try and catch up, she's already got a few hours ahead of you" she let go of me but I stopped, watching her.

"Wait, how do you know?" I asked, "how do you know we're going after her?"

Riley smiled.

"Thats my secret" she said turning back around, "but good luck Danny and make sure she doesn't get hurt because the man who is with her has been told to kill her if she diverts from the plan" and just like that Riley disappeared into the crowd on the street.

It was strange for me to see someone like her to care about my sister, I couldn't imagine my sister caring for someone who she had no reason to especially if she's undercover. But there was something about that girl that made me smile, no doubt she would have had a hard life but she seemed be able to do the effect on both me and my sister that my sister does on everyone else and thats make her likeable when you know she's bad for you.

I turned back around and headed for the train station with a quicker pace, if we did cross paths with Lexie we couldn't sabotage her cover, or like Riley said the guy she was with her would kill her. If Riley thought he could do it and she was the one out of all of us who knew Lexie's potential at the moment then whoever this guy was might be the same person who taught Lexie her tricks, that meant facing Lexie and the guy who practically taught her everything was going to be a hard pair to take down.

* * *

When I got to central station it was packed with moving bodies, I had to squirm my way over to the train trying not to get knocked over. I hated going to Central station, it was always packed no matter what time it was. I scurried onto the train and waited for it to move before I went looking for Ed and Al, I knew the moment the train started moving they couldn't kick me off. I wanted to be apart of this adventure, even if no one thought I could handle it.

I slid into the seat next to Ed and he jumped, staring at me.

"No!" Ed exclaimed pointing at me, "I feel like I'm repeating history except last time a Mustang ran away she got on the wrong train and didn't want to actually run into us but this time I think it was on purpose!"

I shrugged.

"Didn't the Mustang say you couldn't come with us?" Al asked taking the normal approach to this instead of the Ed approach.

"Yep but I've decided I want to help anyway and I have some added information you might want to know" I said sitting up straight.

"You realise your sister is going to blame me if you come with us" Ed sighed, "man she's going to take it out on me" he moaned leaning against the window.

"Whats this information we should know?" Al asked.

"Well I just spoke to Lexie's spy" I said ignoring Ed's moaning about how it was bad enough he had to fight her if they crossed paths but now he was going to have to fight mad her because I was with them. "She said Lexie left last night so they are a few hours ahead of us and also the guy she's with is ordered to kill her if she diverts from the plan…"

That shut Ed up.

"And who is this guy that she's with?" Ed asked, "like on a scale from Yoki to Kimblee, how bad are we saying?" he asked.

I frowned at him confused.

"He means from a scale of 1 being pathetic and 10 being very bad" Al said explaining what his brother meant. That made more sense.

"Well from the way Riley made him sound i'd say up in the 10 area" I admitted.

Ed crossed his arms.

"Great so we've got to take down Lexie and this guy" Ed grumbled, "and can you not die or get hurt" he said to me. "Because while you're with us you're my responsibility" he stated.

I frowned up at Ed and opened my mouth.

"Don't argue with me Danny because you know very well I'm right, this is way over your head" he sighed. "And yet I'm surprised when I shouldn't be, this is the type of stuff your sister pulls…"

I looked at Al.

"It's his way of showing he cares" Al said while Ed grumbled to himself.

"Explains why you fight so much with my sister, she's got the same way of showing she cares as well"

Ed crossed his arms and looked out the window.

"She's seriously going to kill me" Ed muttered to himself.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

Both Duke and I had staked out the house our friend Rene Parsons was living in under a different alias, we had seen a few military officers scope the area out like they were waiting for something to happen but not quite sure what it was going to be. That meant Grumman had men on alert out here but not yet moved Rene so that meant whoever he had sent to beat me hadn't got here yet.

"They're suspicious" Duke growled, "why are they suspicious?" he asked.

"You honestly think I know?" I asked back.

Duke spun around and pushed my up against the wall.

"There are only three people who know about this operation, me, you and Victor so why are the military are on high alert?"

I shoved him back.

"Don't accuse me" I sneered at him, "I'm just as loyal as you-"

Duke grabbed the collar of my jacket pulling my face towards him.

"Just because Victor trusts you doesn't mean I do, I think you're up to something" he growled.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"You think that about everyone, you don't trust anyone but Victor" he had no idea how right he was but I know he was taking shots at me trying to get me to falter, give him a reason to actually believe I was working for someone else.

"I trust people I just would never trust you" he growled at me, "I might not be the smartest but I've seen you at your darkest, you are capable of anything."

I smiled and Duke shoved me away.

"Thats no a compliment, that means no matter how hard you try to push away that out of control freak you've got inside you it will never go away, it will always linger in your head like a devil sitting on your shoulder whispering ideas in your ear"

My smiled disappeared.

"Who do you think created her" I said staring up at Duke, "you created every trick I know, I just perfected it" I sneered.

Duke gritted his teeth in disgust and turned around staring at the house again. He was just as bad as me but he knew I was trying to push that monster inside me away but he was right, id never get rid of her only control her and to do that I needed to take down both men who had created her.

Victor and Duke.

"Lets get in there before the military do another round, if we can get in there unseen then we can get what we want and be on our way without any commotion" Duke growled grabbing me by the arm. "Now stick to the plan, we get what we need out of him by any means necessary and if you falter" Duke said glancing down at me, "he won't be the only one left for dead in there."

I jerked out of his grip.

"Yeah I got it Duke" I growled, "ill get the information and you keep look out."

He laughed.

"Fine but I'm staying in the same room, I want to hear everything and of course I can't miss out on you doing your thing" he chuckled at me, "there was one thing I loved about you and that was just how dark you can get" he didn't trust me but that didn't mean he didn't love watching me torture someone, he thought my job on Sammy was amazing.

"Dirty old bastard" I muttered.

"We all have our turn ons"

I shuddered in disgust.

"Can we not discuss that" I said standing at the front door, "because I think you just made me throw up in my mouth a little" I knocked on the door before Duke could respond, I knew he was a disgusting man but I didn't need to know his fantasies and that I was in them. That made me want to actually gauge out my own eyes.

The front door opened and a small man with light brown hair answered, I recognised him immediately. It was Rene Parsons.

"Long time no see Rene" I said shoving him out the way, he didn't recognise me but he recognised Duke.

Rene hit the ground and scrambled away from us.

"We have a few things we'd like to ask" I had tried to stall for as long as I could until Grumman's back up turned up but now I was going to have to do what Victor had sent me out to do.

"Look I don't have anymore stones so I don't know what Mr Sinclair wants from me" Rene stammered.

Duke looked at me as if to say it's your time to shine.

"Thats not why we are here" I said pulling out a chair from the dinning table and sitting it in the middle of the room.

Rene stared at me and his eyes widened.

"You're the stone mule" he whispered, "the Mustang who escaped Central Prison…"

I pointed to the chair.

"Nice of you to remember but if you don't mind sitting in the chair" I pulled out my gun when he didn't move off the ground, "please" I said pointing my gun at him.

Rene scrambled up onto the chair.

I pulled my belt off and tied his hands behind the chair.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way" I said walking around the chair to face him, "and it's totally up to you."

Duke watched out the windows keeping an eye out.

"Look i don't know what you two want but I'm being constantly watched by the military and the moment they realise something is up you two are going to get caught"

I bent down in front of Rene putting my gun away and put my hands on his knees.

He stared down at me.

"Now why would that be?" I asked, "why are you so important that the military have you watched?"

Rene's eyes darted to Duke.

"Im the one you need to be watching, not him" I said digging my nails into Rene's knees.

He cringed slightly and looked down at me.

"You opened me up as a kid and put philosopher stones inside me" I leaned up putting my face in his. "Do you know what that did to me?" I asked, "those voices made me insane" I whispered so Duke couldn't hear me, "they gave me power that made me lose my mind" I whispered in his ear.

Rene's eyes widened and I could feel the fear radiate off him.

"Stop playing games Alexis" Duke growled, "we don't have all day, lets make this quick."

I leaned back and stood up.

I pulled out my knife and held it against Rene's cheek.

"Wheres the ledger for the Syndicate?" I asked.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about" Rene stuttered.

I ran the knife along his cheek and blood ran down his face.

"Like I said we can do this the easy way or the hard way" I growled down at him, "either way ill get what I want, I always do."

Rene took in a deep breath.

"I don't know what this Syndicate is" he insisted.

I walked around to his hands.

"There is one thing that over rules fear and that is pain" I picked one of his nails with his knife, "pain can make anyone scream their deepest darkest secrets" his hands went ridged and the muscles in his neck seized up. "But there is nothing like putting the two together" his nail hit the ground.

I jerked Rene's finger backwards and I felt the bones crack.

He yelped in pain.

I stood up, walking back around to Rene and leant down in front of him.

"I suffered that fear and pain" I whispered, "listening to those voices in my head taunting me, those murderers describing to me what they did to their victims" I smiled. "They taught me how to make pain hurt and to create fear in the victims mind, to believe that death is the only escape…"

Rene gulped.

"You're sick" he whispered up at me.

I sat on him straddling his lap and chuckled.

"No" I said shaking my head, "I'm not sick, I'm twisted" a grin spread across my face making his face twist in fear.

He stared up at me.

"Sick makes it sound like there is a cure and there is no cure for me" I ran my fingers through his hair grabbing and handful of it, "now tell me what I want before I lose my patience with you" he stayed silent. "Fine" I said getting up off him, "ill enjoy torturing the man who made me crazy."

I let go of his hair shoving his head back.

"Shit" Duke muttered.

I turned around and he ducked away from the window.

"What is it?" I asked.

Duke ripped his collar off his shirt and gagged Rene.

"Theres a kid at the door" he whispered.

I frowned at him.

"You of deal with the kid at the door" he insisted.

I stared at Duke.

"How?" I asked, "what am I supposed to say?" I asked.

Duke shrugged at me.

There was a knock at the door and we froze.

Rene struggled trying to call out but the gag muffled him.

"Shut up" Duke growled slamming his fist into Rene's face, "Alexis get rid of the kid, its better if a young girl answers the door than an unknown man, ill draw more attention than you."

I put my knife down and walked over to the door taking in a deep breath. I couldn't imagine why there was a kid at the door.

I opened it and froze the moment I recognised my brothers face, my eyes widened and he smiled rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Now probably isn't the best time to ask for a cup of sugar, right?" he asked, now this is not who I meant for Grumman to send, my own brother. Roy wouldn't have agreed to this so this was either another one of Grumman's schemes or Danny was taking matters in his own hands, "nice hair cut by the way" he added with a whisper.

The smile on his face said that the shock on mine satisfied him immensely.


	28. Chapter 23

_**Chapter twenty-three**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Danny stepped aside and Ed spun around the corner slamming his fist into my face.

I stumbled back and hit the ground.

Well I wasn't expecting this but at least Ed didn't hold back, that meant he wasn't going to blow my cover and I was the enemy right now.

"Get up Alexis and fight them!" Duke roared pulling his gun out.

I laid on the ground clutching my face. Duke knew my full potential and when I was holding back so that meant I couldn't hold back.

Duke fired at Ed and he darted forward attacking Duke.

I leaped to my feet slamming my foot into Danny's chest and he stumbled backwards. Al appeared around the corner, I dodged him when he leaped at me and pulled the front door shut locking it so Danny couldn't get involved.

"You guys aren't going to get what you came for!" Ed snapped but that wasn't going to stop us.

Al clapped his hands and put them to the wall, a hand wrapped around my arm keeping me pinned against the wall.

I struggled to get free from the wall while Al and Ed attacked Duke but even with alchemy they couldn't stop him, Duke was a more experienced version of me. And I'm sure neither Ed and Al have had the need to fight so they weren't at their best, why Grumman had only sent these two I didn't know. We needed someone like Armstrong but even Duke could still take him, Duke was nearly the size of Armstrong.

"Alexis!" Duke roared, "fucking get with it!"

My arm broke free and I stumbled to the ground. My brother had shocked me enough to catch me off guard and that punch to the face Ed had given me had knocked my balance out of whack.

I shook my head staggering to my feet.

I was pushed up against the wall the moment I stood up straight.

I stared up at Ed.

"You let me brother come along" I whispered furiously at him.

"I didn't get a choice, he kind of invited himself" Ed whispered back.

I slammed my foot into his shin making him let go of me and I slammed my elbow into his jaw.

Ed staggered back clutching his face.

"Thats for the fist in the face!" I snapped at him, I could still taste the blood in my mouth.

I froze when I saw Duke push his gun up against Al's head.

Ed glanced at them and froze as well.

Duke would kill them without a second thought.

"Duke wait!" I exclaimed before he pulled the trigger, "don't kill him!"

Duke glanced at me.

"Why?" He snarled at me, "they've seen our faces so its better if we leave no witnesses" I had to come up with an idea quick that sounded logical to Duke and not made me out to sound suspicious.

"He's a state alchemist Duke" I said pointing at Al lying through my teeth, "do you know how much trouble that would cause for Victor if you go killing a state alchemist, the military will be all over us!"

Duke still held the gun to Al's head.

Ed tired to step towards them but I grabbed his arm stopping him, if anything set Duke off then he'd shoot not thinking through the consequences.

"Who gives a fuck-"

"Duke think about it!" I snapped, "remember Victor said to be smart and killing a state alchemist is not smart" I said trying to find the reasoning in my own words.

Duke gritted his teeth thinking about it.

"Fine!" He spat, "tie him up, tie them both up."

I let go of Ed but he grabbed my wrist, pushing me to the ground and pulling my gun out holding it to my head.

"Put your gun down or ill shoot her" Ed threatened.

Duke laughed at him.

"You think I honestly care if she lives or dies, do it and lets see how well that works out for you" Duke said wrapping his arm around Al and pushing the gun against his head harder, "she's the only thing stopping me from killing this kid, god knows why but she thinks its in our best interests to not kill him."

We were all silent, waiting to see which one was going to make the first move. By the way Duke was looking between me and Ed said that he wanted me to make the first move.

Duke tapped his foot.

"Okay enough games Alexis, sort this guy out"

I twisted my body grabbing Ed's wrist and digging my fingers into it and making him let go of the gun.

I pushed him to the ground.

"My life means nothing to him so don't bother" I whispered at Ed holding him down. Duke didn't care if I died in the process, to him that was one less problem to deal with.

"Tie him up and continue on Rene" Duke said nodding at Ed, "ill deal with the alchemist."

I pulled off my shoe laces and tied Ed's hands up.

"Good one" I growled at Ed low enough so only he could hear, "could have at least made an effort to stop us."

Ed jerked back slamming his elbow into my stomach making me grunt in pain.

"Yeah well we didn't know exactly who we were up against" Ed growled back, "we weren't expecting to be fighting another Armstrong" he said staring at Duke while he made Al sit on the ground keeping his hands in sight.

"I warned you guys" I pulled Ed to his feet, "I really hope you have a back up plan" I said to him.

I pushed Ed over to Al and Duke and he sat down next to Al.

Duke glanced at me.

"Continue with Rene" He growled at me.

I turned back towards Rene and he leaned away from me with wide eyes.

I pulled the gag off and pointed at Ed and Al.

"Now who's going to come save you?" I asked.

I pulled on Rene's hair making him look up at me.

"So tell me where it is!"

There was a bang at the door but we ignored it, I knew it was Danny.

"Alexis" Duke growled, "stop being nice and get the fucking information!" He snapped.

I ignored him slamming my fist into Rene's face.

"Tell me!" I shouted getting frustrated.

Rene hung off the chair as blood dripped from his mouth, he knew and I needed the information or Duke was going to kill me.

Rene laughed slightly.

"Holding back now?" he sneered up at me.

I felt a gun pressed to my head.

"Thats exactly what I was thinking" Duke growled.

He glanced at Al.

"Fucking move and I will kill you" Duke added.

Al stayed still and Duke looked back at me still holding his gun to my head.

"Why are you playing games girl?" he growled pressing the gun up against my head, "why are you holding back?"

I faced Duke grabbing his wrist making him hold the gun firmly against my head.

"You going to shoot me?" I asked, "right now when you need me?"

He barred at his teeth like a dog.

"I will" he snarled, "you know I will" he could but he couldn't get what Victor needed thats why I was sent. If Duke could do what I was doing then he would have gone by himself.

"Back off Duke so I can do my job" I growled at him, "unless you want to be the one going back to Victor and telling him why you don't have the information and explain why you killed his favourite little girl" I sneered, "the one who looks like his wife" I added with a whisper.

Duke pulled back and my hand dropped down to my side.

"Just fucking do it" Duke growled grabbing my shirt and pulling me up onto my toes, "and hurry the fuck up before that kid out there attracts the attention of the military" Danny was still banging against the door.

Duke turned around facing the boys and pointing his gun back at them.

"Get on with it" he said to me over his shoulder.

I exhaled and sat back on top of Rene.

"You going to kill me?" Rene asked, blood still dripped from him mouth.

I smiled.

"Im not going to kill you, I'm just going to hurt you really really badly" I said reaching around him and grabbing his hands. "But of course that pain will stop when you give me what I want" I snapped another finger back and he howled in pain. "Come on Rene" I sung, "I love games but right now you are testing my patience" each time the pain faded out of his face I would snap another finger. They had given the information to the right guy because this guy was not budging.

Finally Duke got lazy and Al saw his moment to strike.

"Keep going Alexis!" Duke roared fending Al off, Ed tried to free his hands. I had run out of fingers to break so I pulled out my knife and slammed it into Rene's leg twisting and turning it.

"All right!" Rene finally broke practically crying, "I don't have the actual location but its North somewhere, on the outskirts of Briggs theres a cabin in the snow with a safe, thats where the ledger is-"

The bullet went straight through Rene's head cutting him off.

My body tensed when his blood splattered all over me.

I leaped off the dead body.

"The fuck Duke?!" I spat turning to face him, "you couldn't have waited until I got off him until you decide to blow his fucking brains out!"

"We've got what we want so lets go now!" Duke demanded grabbing my arm and pulling me with him while he pointed his gun Al.

I opened the door pushing Danny out the way and he stumbled backwards staring at me not moving. I guess blood soaked me stunned him enough to not move.

Duke fired towards Ed and Al and they ducked, he turned around and pulled me with him out of the house and down the street.

* * *

We managed to get a hotel room before the Military caught us, they were crawling all over the streets looking for us. That whole situation was one huge mess and now we had the information, thanks to me. I had tried my hardest by not breaking my cover but it had to be done and I couldn't stop the information getting into Victor's hands. That wasn't my job.

I stood in the bathroom wiping the blood off me and off my jacket, I couldn't believe Duke had killed him. He didn't have to kill Rene, for one we could have gotten more from him and two there was no reason to kill him but Duke wouldn't have understood that, I was just lucky I got reasoning into his head about not shooting Al.

I scrubbed at the dry blood on my jacket with cold water so it didn't stain. I didn't care about rips or dirt on my jacket but I didn't want blood, thats not a good look and neither is it all over my face.

"Yes we'll leave the moment we get the chance, we just have to wait for things to settle down" Duke was on the phone to Victor explaining how not well our plan went, "I don't know how they knew we were coming" he added with a mutter. "I reckon it was her, I know you trust her but I don't" this man was seriously stupid.

"I can hear you" I called out rolling my eyes.

I pulled my jacket back on walking out of the bathroom.

"Give me the phone" I said holding my hand out.

Duke handed the phone over to me.

"Look I don't know how they knew but they did and they had an alchemist" I admitted.

"Someone would have told them" Victor growled, "you two are the only ones who knew about this."

I leaned against the wall while Duke watched me like I was going to betray someone.

I stared back at him with a smile.

"Are you sure it wasn't Duke?" I asked smiling at him, "you know he might have loose lips when he's getting laid and you know he likes those girls down the road-"

Duke shot forward pushing me up against the wall.

"Oh you should see the way he's reacting" I chocked slightly into the phone, "he's being very defensive Victor" I gasped still holding onto the phone while Duke kept me up against the wall.

"Put him on" Victor growled.

I put the phone to Duke's ear while he still held me against the wall.

"I didn't say anything-"

Duke stopped mid sentence and squinted, Victor was shouting at him.

"I swear it wasn't me" Duke stared back at me. "He wants to talk to you" Duke growled still not letting me go.

I put the phone back to my ear.

"You know he can't keep it in his pants Victor" I sighed.

Duke tightened his grip making me gasp.

"Now now Dukey boy no need to get physical with me, Victor he's getting physical with me"

Duke gritted his teeth.

"Stop it Alexis" Victor sighed, "I've already spoken to him, I don't need you stirring him up anymore, now what about the stones?" Victor asked making me sigh.

"Duke shot the guy through the head before I could ask" I said truthfully, "we got nothing out of him about the philosopher stones" Victor went silent while Duke still held me up against the wall.

"Stupid fucking man" Victor growled to himself, "he's worse than you sometimes, alright fine just get ready to leave soon to get me that ledger" he hung up and I reached out putting the phone back on the hook.

"You bitch" Duke snapped pulling me away from the wall and throwing me.

I hit the ground and slid across the ground until my back hit the couch.

"Oh come on Duke" I laughed grabbing the back of the couch to help me to my feet, "I wouldn't put it past you if you did spill the information" I had managed to turn the tables on him.

Duke stormed towards me but I held my hands up backing away.

"I wouldn't touch me" I warned him, "Victor would be even more furious with you since you've already blown our operation."

Duke pointed at me.

"I didn't tell anyone and I know it was you who did even if I can't prove it" he snarled not taking another step closer, right now I had the upper hand and he didn't want to piss Victor off any more.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

So the whole stopping Lexie didn't quite go down as we expected it, her partner who went by the name of Duke was a lot more experienced than we thought. I couldn't believe I had been locked out during the whole ordeal, well it did get messy by the end but I still wanted be apart of it.

"So she didn't hold back?" I asked Al.

He shook his head.

"No, she's taking the undercover work seriously" Al muttered, "I've never seen her so... Dark."

We were watching Ed while he was on the phone to Roy explaining how badly the plan went and that they got the information they came for. If maybe by a miracle the military searching the streets right now caught them then we had nothing to worry about but I really doubted that, my sister had been avoiding the military for half of her life.

"She did nearly blow her cover at the beginning though" Al sighed, "she convinced Duke not to shoot me but it nearly ended with a bullet in her head" I had seen the mess afterwards. How Rene Parsons had had his brain actually blown out.

"I still can't believe she locked me out" I grumbled crossing my arms, "I so could have helped."

Al shook his head.

"I really doubt that, I'm assuming by the way Duke fights he's the one who taught her, he's not someone to be taken lightly at all" Al said softly.

We watched Ed shout into the phone then throw his hand in the air in frustration, Al continued.

"He had all of us under his grip including Lexie, she did as she was told and you could see she was terrified of him even if she tries to hide it behind her bad attitude, you could see that was the man who broke her…"

That made me clench my fists.

I wanted to destroy the man who had broken my sister, hurt her and made her suffer but if Al and Ed couldn't take him down then I had no chance.

"So thats the man she's scared of" I muttered, I had some clue of what he had done to her. I had seen my sister relapse many times when she was forced back home, she used to get stuck in old memories confusing reality with memories and that man was the reason for it. But now she seems to have more control and if she's working with him then she was learning to accept what he had done to her, that I didn't agree with.

That man had broke my sister in more ways than one and once again she was cowering under him in fear.

"I could see Lexie was scared of him but he doesn't seem too smart, she convinced him not to shoot me and the excuse she used would usually have made anyone else do it but he was convinced by her, she's always been convincing but with him she doesn't need to try too hard and in that spare of the moment she managed to get him to back off without blowing her cover" Al explained.

I leaned back against the wall.

"So you have to outwit him?" I asked.

Al nodded.

"He's got strength and speed but not the brains and I'm assuming thats why Lexie is with him, she's got more common sense than she gets credit for and she's the one there to reel him back when he's about to go off the edge, so yes if we can outwit both of them then we will get one over on them" that shouldn't be too hard. Al was right, my sister wasn't stupid but I had seen both Al and Ed out smart her especially when she got angry, thats when she lost herself.

"He blames us because we weren't ready!" Ed exclaimed storming over to us, "it's not my fault that the Fuhrer won't let him get anyone else involved and that his subordinates refuse to take these two on!"

Ed threw his hands in the air.

"If it wasn't for Lexie I wouldn't be doing this, this isn't even our problem!"

"Brother theres no point getting all angry about it, it's not going to change the fact that we got our ass kicked by Lexie once again"

Ed pointed at Al.

"It wasn't Lexie this time, we would have had her if it wasn't for that bear she's working with!" Ed snapped.

He pointed at me.

"And I knew she'd get angry at me because I let you come" he added.

I held my hands up.

"Hey she locked me outside the whole time, I missed the whole thing" I said defending myself.

Ed crossed his arms huffing.

"Mustang wants us to go North and find this cabin where the ledger is before Lexie gets there" Ed muttered, "he said he's going the ask Major General Armstrong if she can send troops out for extra back up but its up to us to find the ledger…"

I threw my hands in the air in excitement.

"Snow trip!" I exclaimed with a smile, I had never been to the snow.

Ed pointed at me.

"No way, you're getting off at Central"

I frowned at him.

"Mustang orders, he's so not impressed you did a Lexie on him" there was no way I was getting sent back home.

"You never sent Lexie back when she ran away and bumped into you guys" I moaned.

I looked up at Al for back up.

"He's got a point" Al added.

Ed pointed at Al.

"Don't you dare take his side, you're not the one who's going to feel his sisters wraith" Ed pointed out.

We both stared at him.

"Fine!" Ed exclaimed, "you can do what you want but ill give you the same speech that I told your sister, behave or ill drag you back to Mustang" Ed paused and sighed, "and don't die…"

I nodded.

"Noted" I chimed happily.

Ed walked past us.

"Come on we should get on the next train, we can get a head start on Lexie and maybe fix this problem before we have to face her again" Ed grumbled.

Me and Al both followed him. To the snow it is.


	29. Chapter 24

_**Chapter twenty-four**_

 **Danny's POV**

I had honestly never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life, everything was white and the snow looked so soft. The air was freezing cold but the view was absolutely stunning, snows flakes fell from the sky softening the ground.

I leaped from one pile of soft snow to another.

"This the most amazing thing ever!" I exclaimed.

"Im so glad I can finally feel it!" Al also exclaimed having just as much as fun as I was, I guess since getting his body back he hadn't been back to the snow so we were both experiencing it for the first time.

"The effect won't last long" Ed grumbled, "I hate the snow…"

I stood up straight.

"Thats what Lexie used always say"

Ed glared at me.

"She's the reason why I hate it, do you know how many buildings she forced me to jump out of when we were here last!" I don't think it was a question but Al responded anyway.

"Two" he smiled, "one when we were running from the military and the other to get Kimblee's attention…" His voice trailed off when Ed glared at him.

"Thank you Al, I totally needed you refreshing that memory for me" Ed stormed over to one of the phones, "Mustang said to call him when we got here so ill do that while" Ed paused and looked at us two playing in the snow, "while you two get over the fascination of the snow."

Ed continued over to the phone.

"Oh come on brother!" Al called out, "you were just as excited when we were here last!"

I sat down on the ground building a snow man.

"I was sixteen Al, you're nineteen" Ed called back.

"Don't take my fun away just because Lexie took yours away" Al argued.

Ed picked up the phone waving Al off.

Al sat next to me.

"Are you building a snowman?" he asked.

I nodded furiously.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, "it's the first thing you do when you go to the snow, haven't you built one?" I asked.

Al shook his head.

"Would you like to create a childhood memory together?" I asked with a smile.

Al smiled down at me.

"Yes, brother is such a sook now in the snow" Al moaned watching me build my snow man, "I don't know what made him hate the snow so much but it's not from jumping out of the buildings thats for sure" Al stated.

I stopped what I was doing and frowned, thinking.

"Didn't Lexie and Ed disappear in the snow for like a month or two?" I asked.

Al also frowned.

"Yeah they did but they never spoke about it" Al said in confusion, "and when I saw them again they were getting along way better, it was weird…"

I rubbed my chin.

"Maybe they had a life changing experience" I said raising my eyebrows at him.

Al thought about it and nodded.

"Maybe" he whispered.

I continued on with my snowman.

"Oh my turn" Al said shuffling over and flattening the snow.

Al clapped his hands and put them to the ground. The snowman that appeared in front of him was amazing that my mouth fell open.

"Woah" I whispered staring at it, "no!" I exclaimed suddenly making Al jump, "you can't use alchemy Al, thats cheating!"

His face dropped.

"Is not" he protested.

I jumped to my feet.

"If it's going to be a childhood memory then we've got to do it like normal children"

Al pointed at himself hurt.

"Im not a normal child?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Normal children don't use alchemy" I paused thinking of the word Lexie used to call them, "normal children aren't geniuses" I pointed out.

Al crossed his arms and frowned at me.

"But I did as a kid" he grumbled at me.

"Thats because you were like a genius, its time to dumb you down" I pulled him to his feet, "look at my snowman compared to yours" I said pointing at them. Mine looked like it was actually done by a little kid his was like a master piece, "yours is too complex-"

A snowball hit my face shutting me up and I staggered away from Al.

"You don't like my snowman?!" Al snapped.

I picked up a handful of snow throwing it back at him but he ducked out the way.

"Thats exactly what I'm saying!" I snapped back, "we're trying to be normal people right now not alchemists!"

Al clapped his hands and a huge scary looking snowman appeared beside me making me scream.

"No this isn't fair Al!" I exclaimed stepping away from the snowman and another appeared beside me.

I stumbled way again.

"Shouldn't have made fun of my snowman then!"

I pointed at Al.

"Im trying to teach you to be a normal boy!"

He pointed back at me.

"I am a normal boy!"

"You are the furthest from being a normal-"

I wasn't great at dodging these flying snowballs because one hit my forehead and I hit the ground.

"You're so mean Danny!" Al moaned at me, "you're as mean as your sister!"

I sat up with my mouth open.

"I am not!" I said defending my honour, "my sister and I are complete opposites!"

Ed stood between us frowning at us.

"Are you two fighting about snowmen?" He asked.

"No!" I snapped at him.

"Yes!" Al snapped at the same time.

We both glared at each other.

"Al's being mean to me!" I moaned at Ed.

"I am not, Danny is making fun of my snowman and saying I'm not a normal boy so I might have thrown a few snowballs at him…"

Ed looked between us.

"Al you're not a boy anymore you're a man" Ed said to him then he turned to me, "I'm shocked you even managed to let Al bully you."

We both glared at Ed picking up handfuls of snow and throwing it at him, neither of us missed.

Ed stood there gritting his teeth.

"This isn't the time to be getting angry at me!" he snapped at us.

We both walked away from him.

"Ill be a boy if I want to" Al muttered.

"And I wasn't letting him bully me" I added.

"Oh come on you two, now you're both being childish" Ed said coming after us.

We both stopped, turning around and pointed at him.

"You're just as childish as us!" We both snapped.

Ed rolled his eyes at us slinging his arms over our shoulders.

"Well while you two were arguing about snowmen" Ed sighed at us, "Mustang said the Brigg's men found a cabin West of their perimeter in the mountains so thats where we are heading."

I looked up at him.

"By foot?" I asked.

Ed nodded.

"Yep thats the only way of getting up there"

I frowned, that was going to be a long trek.

"What about your auto-mail leg?" Al asked, "remember last time…"

Ed patted him on the shoulder.

"It should be fine as long as we don't get caught in any snowstorms but if we need refuge we can go to Brigg's wall, Mustang said if anything happens to go see Major General Armstrong"

Al nodded.

"Okay at least this time we have a back up plan"

Ed patted me on the head.

"But if we do go to see her you're not a Mustang" Ed said to me, I looked up at him and frowned.

"Why?" I asked.

"Last time did not go down well when Armstrong found out Lexie was with us" Al confessed, "we spent most of our time there in cells that she kept escaping from."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Im sure that didn't go down well" I muttered.

They shook their heads.

"No it didn't, she got us in a lot of trouble for that" Ed grumbled at me, "especially when she decided it was a good idea to cuff herself to me" I wasn't going to even ask about that one.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

The moment we stepped off the train my mood turned sour and not because I was still stuck with Duke but because I was stuck with Duke in the snow, I hated the snow even more than I did last time I was here. It was nothing but full of terrible memories.

"Where do we start?" Duke asked.

I shrugged at him.

"What makes you think I know anymore than you?" I growled at him, "I heard just as much as you did before you shot his brains out."

I glared up at Duke and he rolled his eyes.

"We were in a tight position, we had the information and he was no longer any use, I don't even know why you're so upset that he's dead" Duke grumbled, "its not like it's the first person we've killed together."

I slammed my elbow into him but he didn't even flinch.

"You killed him, there is no us Duke"

Duke wrapped his huge arm around my shoulders pulling me into him.

"You know we'd make a great team if you weren't a little snarky bitch with an attitude problem"

I jerked away from him.

"Don't touch me" I growled walking away, I knew he was trying to get on my good side. I was the one Victor trusted the most at the moment since I managed to convince him that Duke was the one who had told our plan to someone, it was good thinking on my part but that meant Duke was going to be nice to me… Well he was going to try that didn't mean he was actually going to succeed at it.

I stood on the steps of the train station looking around. I had no clue where to start looking for this cabin.

"Well you're the brains here Alexis, how are we going to find the cabin?" Duke asked, "because you know the longer we take the more we are going to piss off Victor and the military is going to beat us" if he actually thought about it they should have already gotten to it. Thats what I was praying for so when we got there we would find the whole place empty.

"All right I've got an idea" I muttered not pleased with it but it would be worth a shot and get Duke off my back.

I walked up to the guy selling newspapers wrapping Duke's arm around me, I pushed aside all my hate for him just to get this job done and hopefully I would manage it before I was actually sick being this close to him.

"Excuse me" I called out, the guy turned around and smiled at me.

I smiled back.

"What can I do for you ma'am?" he asked.

I cuddled against Duke.

"Me and my husband are looking for my parents old cabin" I said through gritted teeth with a smile.

Duke played along pulling me closer into him.

"But we're not quite sure where it is, we know its in the mountains somewhere on the outskirts of Brigg's, would you have any clue where it is?" This was a long shot but might as well give it a try.

The man thought about it.

"We decided it was a good place to be alone for a honeymoon" Duke added.

His hand on my back travelled further down until it was holding my butt.

My whole body went tense.

"Oh is that place yours?" the man asked, "I always wondered who it belonged to" he said smiling at us while Duke kept me close.

I tried to push away slightly.

"It's a far hike though" the man added staring at us.

I giggled slamming my foot into Duke.

He flinched slightly letting me go.

"We're the adventurous type" I said pulling Duke's arm up so it sat higher on my back and not groping me in public, I honestly felt sick to the stomach.

"She loves taking risks" Duke wrapping me in his arms and kissing me on the head, okay now he was having way too much fun with this.

"Oh well its up in the mountains, West of Briggs, you can't miss it" the man said smiling at us, "it sticks out like a sore thumb if you're looking for it."

I pulled Duke away.

"Thank you" I called out waving at the guy, once we were out of sight I shoved Duke away from me. "You fucking old creep!" I spat, "don't you ever touch me again or I swear to god!"

Duke smirked.

"Gods not going to do anything about it" he laughed reaching out and stroking my cheek.

I whacked his hand away.

"But Victor will" I threatened him, "remember I'm Victor's most prized possession and imagine how he would react if I told him you've been putting your grubby hands all over me" I growled.

Duke rolled his eyes.

"He never used to care" Duke grumbled, "but the moment you were worth looking at he called dibs."

I glared at him. I hated making myself sound like a trophy but it was the only thing that kept Duke off me, it was easier than when I used to have to fight him off when I was younger.

"Come on" I grumbled, "you heard the guy, it's a long hike so we might as well get going" I took the lead trudging through the snow. Now I just had to hope we didn't get stuck in any snow storms or run into any Brigg's men, we'd be fine as long as we didn't cross into Brigg's territory or then we'd really be fighting the military.

 **Don't forget to leave a review if you're enjoying the story :)**


	30. Chapter 25

_**Chapter twenty-five**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I bent down on my knees panting, if I thought walking to Brigg's wall was bad then try hiking up a damn snowy mountain. This was ridiculous but it made sense to hide something up here that was important and if someone did find it who had no idea what the Syndicate was, then the information would mean nothing to them or even make sense.

"Go head" I panted at Duke when he stopped, "I just need to catch my breath or maybe my soul, whatever one I just seemed to have lost" I breathed staring down at the snow.

"We don't have time for rests" Duke grunted, "ill carry you."

I stood up protesting but before I knew it I was already over his shoulder.

"Didn't we discuss earlier you weren't going to touch me!" I snapped slamming my fists into his back but I don't think he even felt it. He ignored my pathetic attempt to leave me alone and trudged through the snow so I gave up hanging over his shoulder catching my breath, I watched the ground and realised there were other sets of foot prints.

I pushed up on Duke's back and looked over my shoulder, they led up to the cabin that was in sight.

I dropped back down letting my hands hang above my head, so someone had beaten us to the cabin.

"We're nearly there" Duke muttered at me but I ignored him looking at the foot prints below me, they weren't that old. So that meant whoever had beaten us still might be in the cabin, this wasn't good. We were catching up too fast and there was nothing I could do to stop the confrontation that we were about to encounter.

Duke bent down putting me down, he still hadn't noticed the footprints but I had.

"You reckon this is it?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"This is the only cabin I see on the boarder of Brigg's, if we went any further inwards we'd cross into their territory and I really doubt we want to face that fight" I admitted, I didn't want Duke to get his hands on this information but I did not want to fight the Brigg's men or… face Olivia Armstrong. That wouldn't end well for me or my cover.

"So I guess we should check it out" Duke said walking up onto the balcony, the cabin looked old and untouched for a long time except for snowy foot prints, three pairs and I knew exactly who they belonged to. The exact same three who had interrupted our little session with Rene, did they honestly not to think of maybe brushing their footprints off the balcony so at least make it look like no one had been here.

"Theres footprints" Duke whispered finally noticing.

I stared up at him.

"I honestly can't believe how slow you are sometimes, were you dropped as a child?" I asked.

Duke gritted his teeth.

"No I wasn't" he growled at me, "I'm sorry but I'm not as close to the ground as you."

I raised my eyebrows and laughed.

"Great come back" I taunted him pulling the front door open, the cabin looked empty. "Being short has nothing to do with it, its called being observant which you are not" I told him.

We stopped, looking around the cabin, it was dark and silent.

"I could still beat you in a fight" Duke muttered.

I sighed facing him.

"You know that one is seriously getting old, you do realise you only can because you've got extra years of training than me"

Duke crossed his arms.

"That makes me sound old" he grumbled.

"Thats because you are now can we find this goddamn thing and get out of here, I hate being stuck out here in the snow" I said turning back around, we had to look for a safe and whoever had been here first had left the place looking like it had been untouched. "You check that end of the cabin, ill check this end" I said walking over to the kitchen.

We separated and started searching the house coming across no unwanted visitors.

"Bedroom clear!" Duke called out.

The kitchen was empty.

"Kitchen clear!" I called out walking into the lounge room.

I started pulling all the books out of the book case.

"If you're looking for the safe its on the bottom shelf" Someone whispered from beside the bookshelf.

I froze and poked my head around.

Ed smiled down at me.

"Hi" he whispered.

I stared up at him in shock.

"I thought you guys had already left!" I whispered furiously at him, "and you're not supposed to be telling me that shit Ed!"

He held up a small cylinder tube in his hand.

"Ive already got it, the papers are in here"

I whacked him and he whacked me back.

"Hey stop Lexie" he growled trying to get me to back off.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" I asked still whispering, "why haven't you left yet?"

"We were about to then spotted you and your big friend so we all hid"

I threw my hands in the air.

"We?" I asked, "where are the other two?"

Ed shrugged.

"They hid"

I stared at him.

"And you decided to hide here Ed?" I asked pointing to the corner of the book shelf he had tucked himself in, "right next to the thing we'd be looking for and you left foot prints on the balcony, you're not very good and being subtle."

Ed frowned.

"Subtle was never my speciality" he admitted.

"Bathroom clear!" Duke called out.

I started hitting Ed again.

"No kidding"

Ed fended me off.

"Lexie stop hitting me, we're trying to be subtle remember"

I stopped and pointed at him.

"Don't get smart Ed now get the fuck out of here" I growled, "take the damn back door!"

He frowned at me.

"Okay okay no need to get vulgar with me"

I hit him again.

"Go Edward!" I whispered furiously again.

Ed glanced around the corner and silently headed for the back door.

"I found the safe but its empty" I called back to Duke gesturing Ed to go quicker.

He flipped me off and I returned the gesture.

"They must have beaten us here" I added as Ed opened the back door.

"Intruders!" Duke roared and Ed and I froze.

Danny and Al raced around the corner running straight into me knocking me off my feet.

I stumbled to the ground absolutely shocked.

"Don't just lie there Alexis, stop them!" Duke shouted jumping over me. Oh god this couldn't get any worse.

"Danny take this and get out of here, head for Briggs!" Ed snapped giving the cylinder to Danny and pushing him out the back door, "we'll handle these two!"

Ed and Al faced us while Duke pulled me to my feet.

"How did you let them knock you to the ground?!" Duke snapped at me.

I jerked away from him.

"Well I didn't expect them to come flying around the damn corner Duke!" I snapped back, "I can't predict everything!"

We both faced Ed and Al.

"Ill handle these two, you go after the kid before he crosses into Briggs territory" Duke muttered, id rather it be me chasing my brother than Duke.

I ran at Ed and Al first dodging them and straight out the back, Danny was clumsily trying to get away.

I sighed staring at him as He fell into the snow, I couldn't believe he was still apart of this.

"You'll never catch me!" Danny cried dramatically staggering to his feet, he tried running through the snow but didn't get very far.

I leaped into the snow and caught up with him far too quickly.

"I'm unstoppable!"

"No, you're an idiot" I muttered behind him.

Danny jumped turning around, facing me.

"God could you not sneak up on me and maybe let me get away" he insisted.

I grabbed the back of his collar.

"You know I can't do that Danny" I sighed dragging him further away from the cabin.

He clutched onto the cylinder.

"Then what are you doing?" he asked curiously letting me drag him over to one of the trees out of the line of sight, I needed to keep him safe from Duke.

"Tying you up" I confessed.

Danny's eyes widened and he threw the cylinder, it flew past the cabin and down the hill slightly.

I sighed.

"Thats defiantly going to keep it out of my hands" I said sarcastically undoing Danny's belt.

"Hey Lex isn't this a bit inappropriate!" He exclaimed trying to fight me, "I'm your brother!"

I pushed him up against the tree and tied his hands around it with his belt.

"Oh" he muttered when he realised what I was doing.

"Now stay here and out of trouble, last thing I need is you getting hurt" I muttered.

Danny struggled but I was a pro at tying people up.

"Oh come on you can't protect me my whole life Lexie!" Danny moaned.

I pointed at hm.

"Watch me" I growled making him huff at me.

"Im sixteen now Lexie, you've got to let me learn from my own mistakes like you did!"

I turned around and headed back the way I had come.

"You remember what you were doing at the age of sixteen, I know I might not be as strong as you but you can't protect me forever!" I ignored him heading for the cylinder Danny had thrown.

"Bomb!" Al exclaimed leaping out of the cabin and nearly knocking me over.

I frowned watching as he made a run for it.

"Nope I've nearly been blown up too many times!" Ed exclaimed following him very quickly.

I watched them curiously with one eyebrow raised then Duke leaped out of the cabin.

"Wahh!" I shouted as he grabbed me running from the cabin.

Moments later it exploded.

So they weren't kidding. The ground under us shook and everyone stumbled around.

Duke dropped me and everyone got ready to fight again but I stepped between them holding my hands up.

"Stop!" I shouted and everyone froze.

They all stared at me.

"Who the fuck had a bomb?!" I snapped looking between the three of them.

Ed and Al pointed at Duke.

I stared at him and Duke shrugged.

"I thought it might come in handy"

I threw my hands in the air.

"You really are fucking stupid, aren't you?!" I spat at him, "you don't let bombs off in the goddamn snow!"

Duke frowned at me and shrugged.

"Whats the problem?" he asked.

I pointed to the top of the mountain.

"You've started a damn fucking avalanche you idiot and look" I pointed further down the hill where the cylinder was, it was in the path of the avalanche. Where we stood right now was out of its path but we couldn't afford to lose those documents.

"Oh" Duke muttered.

"Ill fucking get them because you're totally useless!" I shouted taking off into the snow that was slowly moving around me.

"No way Lexie!" Ed shouted coming after me, "if anyone is getting ahold of them its me!"

Ed chased me while Al started fighting Duke off again, Danny peeked around from the tree he was still tied to watching.

I slid down the hill with the moving snow hoping I had enough time to grab the documents and get out of the way of the avalanche.

I managed to grab the cylinder but Ed went straight into me making me drop them and we rolled further down the hill.

"Ed!" I snapped trying to stay on my feet but the snow was moving quicker that neither of us could stay still, "I know I'm supposed to be the threat but right now that is our biggest threat!" I shouted pointing at the avalanche heading straight for us two.

Ed staggered to his feet but fell back into me.

"Sorry I got caught up in the moment" he grumbled, we both tried to fight against the moving snow to reach the tube that was slowly moving down towards us. "This is kind of a huge issue though" he admitted, the snow was now up to our waists.

I stared at him in disbelief and just to make things worse he clapped his hands and put it to the moving snow but nothing happened, I continued to stare at him.

Ed looked at me shrugged.

"Worth a try, right?" he asked.

"No, it just makes you look like a damn idiot!" I snapped.

Ed frowned at me.

"Shut up, I'm trying to come up with ideas" he grumbled back.

I sighed rubbing my head nervously.

"We need to go down and get to flat land" I said turning back around, but there was no flat land in sight unless we went across the avalanche which we wouldn't make at the moment. Alchemy would totally come in handy right now but Al was kind of in the middle of something and I had tied Danny to the tree.

"This is so not good" I muttered. We were still being pushed backwards and I was slightly starting to get worried.

"Ive got an idea to get that" Ed said pointing at the cylinder that hadn't reached us yet.

"And what about that?" I asked pointing at the large amounts of snow heading towards us.

Ed shook his head.

"No I have nothing yet but feel free to step in"

I stared at him.

"We might as well get that first" Ed said grabbing my arm before I fell flat on my back. The snow was getting a lot faster, it felt like rushing water.

"So whats your idea?" I asked.

Ed scooped me up in his arms and my eye widened.

"Hoping I can throw you further up enough to get it before the snow swallows it…"

I held on to him staring up at him, that seriously couldn't be his plan.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

Ed smiled down at me.

"Im not kidding"

Ed threw me upwards and I let out a scream landing in the moving snow, but the plan worked, I just managed to reach the cylinder.

I scrambled to my feet stumbling back down towards Ed with the documents in my hand.

"You know how you said we need to find flat land" Ed called out.

"Found some?" I asked coming up beside him.

Ed grabbed my arm before I stepped off the cliff.

My eyes widened.

"Yeah down there" he admitted trying to keep us both from falling off the cliff, this wasn't good. We both tried to scramble back before the moving snow dragged us off the edge, the snow was rising quickly.

"Lexie we're going to go off the ledge…"

We couldn't keep this up any longer, Ed was right but not only would we might not survive the fall but also the amount of snow that would fall on top of us after.

"Man why do we get into these situations in the damn snow?!" I moaned in frustration, "I thought we agreed we'd never be in the snow together" it seemed every time we were in the snow together something drastically bad happened.

"Do you trust me?" Ed asked.

I glanced over my shoulder and there was a huge wave of snow coming straight towards us.

I gulped staring at it.

"Is that really the question to be asking right now?" I asked staring at the snow.

Ed squeezed me arm making me look at him.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated the question.

I stared at him.

"Of course I do but what does that have to do with that?!" I exclaimed pointing at the wave of snow.

Ed wrapped his arm around my waist.

"I have an idea but I need you to trust me"

I stared at him.

"hold on to me"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Ed-"

"Now!"

We both stepped off the cliff and I held onto Ed wrapping my arms his neck and my legs around his waist squeezing my eyes shout.

"Oh my god we're going to die" I squealed clutching me, "we're going to die" the thing was we weren't falling.

"Lexie open your eyes for gods sake, we're not going to die" Ed sighed at me.

I opened my eyes and we were hanging off the cliff. Ed was holding on pinning us up against the edge of the cliff as the snow slid off the edge missing us.

I stared at him in shock.

"We're fine, we just have to kind of wait" he said looking up at the snow still falling off the edge while he clutched it. Ed stuck his boots into the wall of cliff for leverage while squashing me between his body and the cliff.

"Why?" I asked shaking my head, "why do we get into these situations?"

Ed looked back at me and smiled slightly.

"This isn't funny Ed, remember last time we were in a situation like this?"

Ed nodded.

"Yeah I remember, you confessed-ouch!" He snapped when I pulled on his ear, "don't go hurting me, I'm the one who's holding us here!"

I pointed at him.

"You nearly died!"

Ed rolled his eyes.

"No don't roll your eyes at me!" I snapped, "we do not want to relive that especially when you have a job to do" I said holding the cylinder in front of his face.

"Can we deal with that when we're not hanging of a cliff?" Ed asked.

I looked down at the very long drop.

"Fine" I muttered, "just don't let go because I don't want a die" Ed was the only thing keeping us here, I just hoped he could hold on long enough until this avalanche had come to an end.

"Nice hair cut by the way" Ed chuckled to himself.

I pulled back glaring at him.

"Do you honestly want to start a fight?" I asked, "because thats exactly where you are heading with that sort of comment" Ed was still smiling.

Fine two could play at this game.

"Well I see you've ditched the red coat" I gesturing to his now brown coat, "I guess you realised how ridiculous you looked in it" that wiped the smile of his face.

"Actually that coat doesn't fit me anymore because I grew" he stated very clearly, "unlike you who's seemed to just stayed small anyway red is the colour of a hero and I've done my heroic act, I've already saved the country but I see you haven't ditched the tacky jacket."

My mouth dropped open.

"You know you haven't changed" I snapped, "three years and you're still stubborn, cocky and trying to save everyone."

Ed stared at me.

"Oh and theres something wrong with that?" he asked.

"I didn't say" I muttered looking away.

Ed sighed.

"And you clearly still like playing games" he grumbled at me. We were silent for a moment.

"I think this is the first civilised talk we've had in like three years" I admitted smirking slightly.

"We're hanging off a cliff Alexis, is this honestly what you call civilised?"

My smirk increased.

"Well we're not trying to knock each other out, so that counts for being civilised and the hanging off the cliff is just you know, the trouble we used to get into" I looked back at him, "you know for old times sake" he was trying to glare at me but ended up smiling.

"You know I should be mad at you" he sighed.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah torturing that man and the killing and going undercover for the Fuhrer while making all of us think you were gone" he looked at me with big eyes. He and his brother honestly had the most stunning golden eyes I had ever seen and they always managed to take my breath away, "I don't know why you felt the need to do that but you honestly owe no one but yourself and seeing you back in that world hating yourself is sad…"

I looked away from him. This was not the time to discuss my decision especially when he was looking at me like that.

"Im not talking about this with you right now" I muttered staring up at the snow thinning as it slid off the cliff.

"You're avoiding things again Lexie" I ignored him, "look at me" I didn't look at him. "Alexis look at me, don't make me take a hand off this cliff."

I looked at Ed gritting my teeth.

"What?" I snapped at him, "what do you want from me?"

"Is all this honestly worth taking down this man?" Ed asked, "all this killing and sneaking around worth it?"

"It is, you have no idea what this man is capable of, what he did to me he has done to many others and if someone doesn't stop him then he's going to continue" I said sternly, "I know you don't get why but if I'm to really move on then this man needs to be dealt with. He's never going to leave me alone, I'm too important, I know too much and I'm too caught up in his world to get out of it, please let me finish this and then I promise no more" I paused and sighed.

I leaned forward putting my forehead against Ed's closing my eyes.

"I promise you Ed that when I'm finished ill never go back, I'm not throwing away the help you gave me, I'm just putting it aside until I defeat the biggest demon in my life" there was no point lying to him or avoiding this because he was going to get it out of me one way or another and I did owe him an explantation.

"Are you going to kill him?" Ed asked.

I leaned back and shook my head opening my eyes.

"No, I'm going to strip him of everything he has, he's taken so much from me so now it's my turn" I admitted, "killing him would be letting him escape, I want him to suffer and Chuck's last wishes was for me to make him nothing but an old man with a fancy name. No money, no power, no nothing but an old man…"

Ed nodded.

"All right, well I'm certainly not going to stop you but" Ed looked up and the snow had stopped, "my arms kind of feel dead and yes I've had three years to get used to having my normal arm back but sometimes it doesn't do as its told."

I held up my finger.

"But first we have to deal with this" I said holding up the cylinder, "do you have any inside pockets?" I asked patting Ed down.

"Are you feeling me up because I don't think this is the time"

I stopped and stared at him.

"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you"

Ed stared back at me quietly not having a comeback.

"god this is not the time for your terrible humour Ed, you just make things awkward"

He smiled to himself.

"You're the one clinging to me" I ignored him opening the tube and pulling the paper, "what are you doing?" he asked. I folded the paper and stuck it down his shirt, "oh now you're sticking your hands down my shirt, thats like a whole new-"

I put my hand over his mouth shutting up.

"Stop talking, you are rambling and you ramble when you get awkward which makes it worse so shut up, you're the one who decided to get us in the position in the first place" I said laughing slightly at him.

Ed frowned when I took my hand away from his mouth.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked.

I smiled.

"No, I'm laughing at the fact that I used to find you charming" I said shaking my head.

Ed scoffed at me.

"I am charming" he muttered to himself looking down at the papers in his shirt, "so um why'd you stick them down my shirt?" he asked.

"Because you're going to let me and Duke get away with this" I said holding up the cylinder.

"But its empty…"

I nodded.

"Oh" he added when he realised what I was thinking.

"Exactly but Duke won't know that, ill pretend I don't either so we don't have to continue fighting" believe it or not I was over fighting especially the people who could very possible kick my ass if they managed to get ahold of me. "But don't give that to the Fuhrer" I said pointing at the documents inside his shirt. "That information could honestly do a lot of damage and it shouldn't be in anyones hands so you keep hold of it for now and destroy it when you think it's the right time, ill face whatever consequences Victor has for me when we get back but if I make Duke believe we got the job done then he won't have any reason to say I betrayed them."

Ed frowned.

"But why me?" he asked, "why should I hold on to them?"

"Because I wouldn't trust anyone else but you to keep them safe, right there is a lot of power and money and I don't want anyone getting greedy if they get ahold of them" I said shoving the cylinder in my pocket, even id get greedy if I had those documents. They were so tempting to use but I knew Ed wouldn't even think about using them.

Ed smiled at me.

"That was a big compliment" he gushed at me.

I sighed I pointing up.

"Can you please pull us up before you actually drop us?" I asked annoyed.

Ed pulled us up and I grabbed onto the edge of the cliff pulling myself up.

"You love giving me big compliments, I know you do because you don't give them to anyone else but me"

I got to my feet brushing my self off.

"You're seriously getting too cocky" I pointed out facing him.

"You were getting pretty cocky when you shoved your hands down my shirt and you said you find me charming"

I crossed my arms while Ed shook his trying to get feeling in them again.

"No I said I did, past tense" I pointed out.

Ed smiled stilling shaking his arms like an idiot.

"Well you haven't seen me in three years, I'm very charming now"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Damn my arms feel numb now" he muttered to himself.

"Don't pull that shit on me Ed" I said.

He looked at me still smiling but it disappeared very quickly.

"Ah shit" Ed muttered.

I turned around and the blown up cabin was sliding down the hill towards us.

I sighed.

"Im never coming to the snow again" I muttered.

Ed leaped at me and we rolled out the way as the cabin slid past us and off the cliff. We laid in the snow and heard the cabin crash to the ground.

"That was close" I said rolling on my back.

"Far too close…"

Ed threw his hands in the air.

"Man I still can't feel my arms" he moaned still throwing his arms around.

I sat up slamming my fist into his arm.

"Ouch!" he spat at me.

"You felt that" I muttered getting to my feet.

"Still violent as ever" Ed muttered back rubbing his arm.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed sliding down the hill towards us, "I thought both of you had gone over!"

Ed got to his feet waving Al off.

"We kind of did but I saved us" Ed said proudly.

I rolled my eyes.

I stepped away from Al before he had a chance to hug me. I couldn't let Duke see that.

I looked up the hill and Duke was cautiously coming towards us.

"Duke!" I shouted pulling out the cylinder, he saw it and I threw it at him. "Run!" I shouted once he caught it.

Duke made a run for it once he had a firm grip on it.

"Wait!" Al exclaimed but Ed held him.

"Don't worry about it Al" Ed muttered, "we've sorted it let them go."

I turned around and faced them.

"Don't forget about my brother, he's still tied to a tree up there somewhere" I turned around and followed Duke making him think he we were getting away with the documents, the only thing was Victor wasn't going to be happy once he found it empty.

 **Don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed it :) Your thoughts are much appreciated.**


	31. Chapter 26

_**Chapter twenty-six**_

 **Danny's POV**

I was still tied to the tree and I had no idea what had happened, Ed and Lexie disappeared into the avalanche and Al and Duke went after them when the snow cleared and yet here I am. Still tied to this damn tree!

Someone in white moved beside me and I screamed.

"What the hell?!" I shouted at the guy with a damn gun.

He stared up at me.

"Who the hell are you and how long have you been there?!"

He stood up and I noticed he was wearing a Briggs uniform. He eyed me suspiciously.

"Look I know how dodgy it is that I'm tied to this tree but I'm not a threat, the threat kinda tied me to this tree" he didn't say a word but point his gun at me.

My eyes widened.

"Alphonse!" I shouted, "Edward! I don't care which one of you but I need someone to tell this guy I'm not a threat!"

Al appeared beside me making me jump.

"God took your time, this guy was going to shoot me!" I exclaimed.

Al leaned down on his knees panting.

"We're all good" Al said waving the solider off still panting, "tell the General that everything went to plan and that we'll be out of her way…"

The soldier nodded, disappearing back into the snow.

"What a creep" I said staring at Al, "I don't know how long he'd been there but he nearly made me pee myself."

Ed was practically crawling when I noticed him.

"That was the deepest snow I've ever walked through" he gasped lying in the snow, "and now we've got to walk back, I don't think I can do it…"

I stared at him.

"Can someone please untie me and explain to me what happened?" I asked, "because my goddamn sister made sure I was out of the fight again!" I was so angry at her for treating me like a little kid, "I'm not twelve anymore she's got to stop treating me like it!"

Al untied me and I stumbled away from the tree.

"And what happened to you two?" I asked Ed, "I could have sworn you and Lexie went off the edge."

Ed crawled to his knees catching his breath.

"We did" Ed panted, "but I saved us" he said waving me off.

I turned around and the cabin was completely gone and a lot of snow replaced it.

"Umm what happened to the cabin?" I asked.

"It went off the edge" Al pointed out, I had missed a lot.

"And what of my sister?" I asked, "I'm assuming they got what they wanted otherwise they wouldn't have left."

Ed smiled standing up.

"Not quite, they think they did" Ed said pulling out the documents from his shirt.

I frowned at him.

"Why did you stuff it down your shirt?" I asked.

He sighed.

"Don't ask" he muttered, "anyway now we can tell Mustang that we've got them" he shoved them back down his shirt.

"So we're going back to Central and giving them to the Fuhrer?" I asked.

Ed shook his head.

"No, Lexie didn't want me to give them to anyone just yet" I frowned, "I'm not sure why but I trust her enough to do as she says."

I raised my eyebrows.

"You think thats smart?" Al asked, "they'll want it the moment we get back to Central."

Ed shrugged.

"Then ill have to hide out for a little while, the Fuhrer was right when he said these could cause a lot of trouble but Lexie not taking them back could put her life in danger" Ed explained, "and these might be the one thing that could save her so we might need them just for now" if Ed thought Lexie might be in danger then he was probably right and her going back empty handed could not only blow her cover but cost her her life.

"So you're going to use them to bargain for her life if need be?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head.

"No not quite, I want to talk to Mustang first but these can't be given to the fuhrer just yet, not until Lexie is finished with what she was set out to do" I don't think my sister realised just how deep she had got herself into this and she wasn't going to be able to get out of it by herself.

* * *

 **Lexie's POV**

Both Duke and I ran as fast as we could until we were sure we were safe enough to walk.

"I thought for sure you had gone off that cliff" Duke panted. We had hit civilisation and now we just needed to get on the first train out of here, I knew Duke wasn't smart enough to check if the documents were actually in the cylinder so I let him hold onto the empty tube so he wouldn't get suspicious.

"How'd you survive that?" he asked.

"Held onto the side of the cliff" I admitted, "I seem to do risky things in the snow" I added with a mutter.

"What about the other one?" Duke asked, "he went off with you and he saved you from the cabin" damn he was getting suspicious already.

"Yeah I know thats when I was able to swipe that thing off him" I said pointing at the tube in his pocket, "the idiot should have let me go down with the cabin."

Duke chuckled.

"Yeah one less problem I would have to deal with" lets hope that kept his suspiciousness at bay for now, I couldn't let anything jeopardise my cover just yet, I was a few names away from destroying everything Victor had built. All I needed was some alone time in his office and id be able to track down those last names id been searching for, I was so close I could taste the victory.

"Victor will be pleased with us though, no doubt we will be rewarded for this after all the struggle we went through just to get some lousy documents" Duke said patting his pocket.

"Yeah" I muttered, Victor was not going to be happy when he opened it up to find nothing in it.

 **Don't forget to leave a review :)**


	32. Chapter 27

_**Chapter twenty-seven**_

 **Lexie's POV**

The triumphed smile on Duke's face when he handed over the cylinder to Victor was priceless, Victor threw it over to James who sat in corner.

"Open it and check if its what we've been looking for" Victor instructed, "I'm assuming it is since the military put so much effort into trying to stop you two" Victor smiled to himself. "Im pleased with you two" he said standing up.

Victor walked over to us.

"You got the one thing that will make me more powerful than the Fuhrer himself" Victor patted Duke on the shoulder then stood in front of me. "And I apologise for ever doubting you Alexis" I kept my face straight, "you have stayed loyal despite your history of lying and stealing from me as a child."

James cleared his throat.

"Victor its empty" James spoke up.

Victor looked over to him and Duke's face went as white as a ghost.

"What?" Victor spat.

James turned the cylinder upside down.

"Theres nothing in it" James stated.

Victor looked back at me and my eyes widened, I had no idea what was going to happen next.

"They- they must have tricked us" Duke stammered, "they were there first and must have-"

"Shut up!" Victor snapped at him. "Why didn't you kill them?" he asked looking at Duke, "you should have killed them!"

I bit my lip.

"She told me not to" Duke said pointing at me, "she said you wanted us to be smart about it and killing them wouldn't have been smart…"

Victor glared down at me barring his teeth.

I gulped slightly.

"You" Victor whispered grabbing my face.

I stayed quiet as fear ran through my body. I had no idea what he was going to do but I might have just blown my cover.

Victor grabbed my face tightly.

"I'd like to see who you blame for what happens next" Victor snarled shoving me backwards.

I stumbled back and hit the ground.

"Now get out of my sight before I kill you!"

I staggered to my feet and stumbled out of the door.

"Who were they Duke?!" I heard Victor snap, "theres a reason why she stopped you killing them" I might have just put everyones life in danger and there was nothing I could do.

If I tried to leave that would prove I was a traitor but if I did nothing Victor was going to do something to someone, he'd pick the first person he knew to hurt me. Duke had no clue who we had faced so Ed, Al and Danny were fine for now but Riley wasn't, Riley was the first person Victor would go after and she was in this house right now.

I ran up the stairs two at a time and rushed into my bed room.

Riley was sitting on the bed carving a bone into a knife.

She looked up and her face lit up.

"Oh hey, how'd it go?" she asked.

I closed the door behind me and grabbed a bag packing her stuff.

"Whats wrong?" she asked getting off the bed.

"You have to leave now" I shoved whatever was hers in sight into the bag.

"What are you talking about?" Riley asked.

I turned around and she stared at me with big eyes.

"You need to leave Riley and I'm not kidding, you need to hide from Victor"

She raised her eyebrows.

"Why?"

I shoved the bag into her arms.

"Because he knows I've betrayed him and he's coming after me by going after someone I care about" I pulled out some money in my pocket.

Riley's eyes widened.

"I need you to hide Riley and don't come out until I've taken him down" I shoved her towards the door.

"Where am I supposed to go?" she asked.

I ran my fingers through my hair trying to think.

"Go to Cora's and give her this" I said pulling more money out of my pocket, "tell her this is all hers if she helps me look after you temporarily but I need you to stay off the streets Riley, understood?"

Riley stared at the money in her hand.

"Is it that serious?" she asked.

I bent down in front of her and she looked down at me.

"You honestly have no idea, I've pushed Victor to his limits and now he's about to see how far mine is until I break again"

Riley stared at me then nodded.

"Okay" she whispered walking backwards, "ill disappear…"

Riley turned around and left.

I watched until I saw her leave out the front door without any trouble, once she was gone I closed my door and paced. The way Victor reacted had told me he knew it was my fault, Duke didn't have the brains to do what I had done and Victor knew it was me who had done it. I should have known this was going to happen but if he couldn't touch any one I cared about then the only other person he could hurt was me and he had already broken me, you can't break something thats already broken.

My door slammed open and Duke stood there with a smile on his face.

"You've been a naughty girl" he chuckled walking towards me.

I backed away until my back hit the wall.

Duke trapped me against the wall.

"Now I've got permission to brainwash you again" he whispered down to me, "I'm going to enjoy this so much" he grabbed me by the hair and dragged me out of my room. I fought against him silently but I knew it was no use, I couldn't get away but I certainly wasn't going to give them anything they wanted.

Duke threw me into the training room.

Kids watched while Victor paced the room.

"Now I've got a special lesson for you guys today" Victor said as I scrambled to my feet but Victor kicked me back down, "this one here used to be one of you but she betrayed me not once but twice!"

Duke picked me up by the scruff of the neck and sat me in the chair in the middle of the room.

"I didn't betray you" I spoke up, "I didn't know the documents weren't in there Victor, I swear" I pleaded looking at him but Victor held his hand up and Duke's fist collided with my jaw.

Pain exploded in my face.

"Yes, so you say but I don't believe you" Victor said turning around and facing me, "I brought you into my home twice Alexis, I loved you like you were my own and trusted you and you betrayed me!"

Dukes's fist hit my jaw again and I nearly stumbled out of the chair but Duke grabbed me sitting me in the chair again.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you" I said spitting blood to the floor, "so we got deceived, how was I supposed to know?" I asked, "Duke was there, he saw everything!"

Victor smiled.

"Exactly" Victor said bending down in front of me, "so why did you stop him killing the alchemist and why did they know your name?" he asked making me frown. "You see Duke maybe stupid but he does pick up on somethings like how one of them called you by the name Lexie, Duke certainly doesn't call you by that name so why did one of them call you that?" Ed had called me Lexie when I went after the cylinder in the avalanche. "And then he saves you from the cabin, thats very intriguing don't you think."

I went very silent and Victor smiled.

"Im more observant than you think" Duke laughed at me.

"It's a shame our best torturer is the one that needs to be tortured" Victor said getting back to his feet.

He turned back to the kids.

"Now learn from her mistakes" Victor said to them pointing at me, "betray me and you'll be praying me to let you die!"

The kids watched with wide eyes.

"Now get out!"

They all scurried out and Victor turned around.

"Who are you working for?" he asked.

"Im not working for-"

Duke hit me again but that spot had already gone numb.

"Don't lie to me Alexis!" Victor shouted, "If you're not going to answer me that then tell me something else" he said bending down beside me. "The alchemist who you came across, was it him?" Victor asked, "was it the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

I glanced at Victor and he was smiling.

"Was it Edward Elric?"

I shook my head, well I wasn't lying. He might have been there but he wasn't the alchemist.

"No" I whispered, "it wasn't him, if it was he would have done way more damage" I lied, "it was someone else…"

Victor stood up pacing and thinking.

"Then who was it?" Victor asked, "who were those three and why are you willing to risk your life to protect them?"

Victor rubbed his chin then stopped.

"Duke continue until she's ready to talk, looks like ill have to do my own digging"

Duke smiled at me as Victor left.

"My favourite method with you is such a simple one" Duke laughed grabbing me by the hair, he dragged me over to the bucket of water. "And this way I don't have to hurt your pretty face… well for now anyway."

Duke shoved my head into the water and everything went silent while I struggled against him. When I was about to pass out from the lack of oxygen he pulled me back out letting me take a breath.

"remember all this can stop when you tell us what we want to know"

I scratched at his arms but he wasn't going to let go.

"I haven't betrayed you-"

He stuck my head back in, I had to find a way to get out of here or id be their prisoner until I told them every secret I knew. I was going to relive everything I had feared, everything that had broken me as a kid and id lose every good part of me id been working on.

* * *

Days passed and I was starting to hear voices, I was sleep deprived in a room where I couldn't hear anything but my own heart beat, it was those same voices that used to taunt me but this time they were in my head and I was imagining them. I knew they weren't there and neither were the people sitting around me, I was in an empty room but it didn't feel empty. Instead of being taunted I was simply answering their riddles, I knew the answers because it wasn't them asking them. It was me.

"Voiceless it cries" Chuck whispered over me.

"Wingless it flutters" Sammy laughed.

"Toothless it bites and mouthless it mutters" Jack whispered, it felt like his mouth was right up against my ear.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"The wind" I replied too scared to open my eyes.

They all laughed.

I shuddered making it felt like bugs were under my skin. It was so dark that I felt like I was suffocating, I knew this was never going to stop until I told Victor what he wanted to know but I wasn't going to. I'd rather suffer than give Victor what he wanted, I hadn't endured three years of working for him to just give up the moment the torture started. I came knowing that this might happen if I was caught out.

The door opened letting light crawl in.

I scrambled back until my back hit the wall behind me, my eyes ached trying adjust to the bright light.

"Ready to talk?" Duke asked walking in.

I didn't say anything as he grabbed my arm dragging me out of the tiny room.

"I sure hope not because I'm having loads of fun with you this time" Duke chuckled, "you're really determined to tell us nothing, I would have expected you to squeal like a pig by now" everything ached in pain and I was covered in my own dried blood.

"Ive seen worse things than you" I whispered, "you wouldn't imagine the things I've seen" Duke ignored my rambling and dragged me to Victor's office sitting me in the chair.

My head hung forward.

I was so weak I couldn't keep myself up straight, my right ankle felt broken and I was sure I had a few cracked ribs but my body had numbed the pain.

Duke grabbed a fistful of my hair making me look straight ahead at Victor.

"So Alexis" Victor said leaning forward on his desk staring at me, "are you going to tell me what I want or am I going to leave you with Duke for a few more days?"

I stared at him.

I slowly reached out for Victor and gestured for him to come closer.

Victor got up slowly walking around his desk and stood in front of me.

"Cl-closer" I stammered quietly.

He watched me cautiously but decided I was in no state to hurt him so he bent down in front of me.

Duke let me go and I leaned forward putting my lips to Victor's ear.

"Go to hell" I whispered in his ear.

I barred my teeth and bit into his neck, my teeth sunk into his skin and Victor howled in pain.

Duke ripped me back and Victor staggered to the floor clutching his neck, his blood dripped from my mouth and I smiled at him.

"Love me, hate me, do what you want to me but you will never break me!" I shouted laughing at him.

I tried to leap forward but Duke held me in my chair.

Victor scrambled back hitting his desk staring at me.

"Crazy, twisted, sick and insane" I snarled smiling at him, "I am all of them because of you" I barred my teeth making Victor's blood drip from my mouth. "But look at me! You created me to be like this and you say you loved me!" I leaned back in my seat laughing. "You never loved me, I was a reminder of your wife and daughter" I pulled against Duke's grip looking down at Victor, "a reminder that you killed them, you destroyed your own family for your own gain and you can never forget that!"

Victor staggered to his feet.

"Crazy fucking bitch!" He spat at me.

Victor walked out clutching his bleeding neck.

Duke slammed his fist into my head, my body went slack and slumped in the chair.

Duke went after Victor locking me in the office.

I stared at the roof and smiled.

I slid off the chair and crawled along the ground, I climbed into Victor's chair ignoring the pain in my ankle. I was finally in his office alone but I didn't know how much time I had.

I ripped open the first layer inside my jacket pulling out my book of names. I had hidden it before we got back to central and although I had been searched no one found the book.

I opened draws looking for the most important names, the three that kept Victor's identity a secret but if the military got ahold of them they would squeal like pigs, tell every dirty little secret they knew about him.

I shuffled through the papers on his desk but found nothing, I opened one of his top draws and a journal sat in it.

I pulled it out flicking through it then smiled, there were the three names one of them being James' name.

James Leffley.

I wrote down the names and shoved my book back into my pocket.

I put the journal back.

The doors opened just as I shut the draw.

Duke walked in looking at me sitting in Victor's chair but didn't suspect a thing, he grabbed me and dragged me back out of Victor's office.

"Now you've really gone and done it" Duke growled with a smile, "time to go back into your favourite little hole" he shoved me into the small tiny windowless room and stood at the door.

I hit the ground and stared up at him.

"Oh don't worry ill be back for you soon" he smiled and shut the door, I had what I needed. Now I just had to find a way of getting out of here.


	33. Chapter 28

_**Chapter twenty-eight**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I wasn't sure what Victor was trying to accomplish by this but whatever it was it wasn't going to work, he had obviously given up on the torture so now he had gone for a different approach.

I sat in the middle of the training room with my hands tied behind me and a woman with long reddish hair sat in the chair in front of me, she went by the name of Mistress River and she held a folder in her hands. She was here to get answers out of me, but I had no idea how she was going to do that since Duke generally did the torturing.

She put down the folder when more blood ran down my face.

River sighed pulling out a silk handkerchief and wiping my face.

"Look at what they've done to you" she said cleaning me.

I flinched at her touch.

"So beautiful and yet they are destroying that, you really look like a mess" she dropped the bloody handkerchief and picked up the folder again.

River flipped through it some more.

"You're an interesting one" she said smiling down at the folder, "you lost your parents at a young age and didn't take that very well" she looked up from the folder.

I was slumped in the chair with blood still rolling down my chin from my split lip.

"But just as you were trying to get past your dark past you were betrayed by the people you decided to trust" River said running her finger lightly across my chin wiping my blood away.

I flinched at her touch again.

"Three years you were going to be sentenced in that awful place and thats only if you behaved, they would have added a few more years if you had fought" she brushed my hair out of my face and put it behind my ear.

"You know nothing" I muttered leaning away from her.

"They betrayed you" she said caressing my cheek not getting the point of me leaning away, that meant I didn't want her touching me.

"They never tied me to a chair" I sneered sitting up straight, I didn't want her to think she could scare me because I wasn't scared of her.

"Their loss" she whispered smiling at me.

River ran her finger along my bottom lip biting her own.

I stared at her.

I knew what she was trying to do now and what she was hired for. She was hired to seduce the answers out of me, or at least mother me to break me in a new way, in a way Victor and Duke couldn't but Mistress River couldn't do that. I was as tough as a diamond and I wasn't going to give anything up, I was useless to them.

"They've done a lot to you" River said hooking her finger on my collar and pulling my shirt and bra strap over my shoulder, she traced the tattoo's on my shoulder but I didn't react to her touch this time.

"Nothing that Victor hasn't already done to me" I said sitting up straighter.

River's eyes darted up looking me in the eyes.

"Now quit the small talk and get to the point" I growled.

"Now now, we're in no rush" she purred.

She smiled putting her hands on my knees and sliding them up my thighs.

River leaned forward and put her lips to my ear.

"I'm sure you weren't taught anything about this, oh well first time for everything" she leaned back and frowned when I started smiling.

"What makes you think this is the first time I've been touched by a women?" I asked, I could get information out of anyone. Male or female, gender was irrelevant you just had to know how to use them.

"Oh you are just full of surprises and mysteries, id love to know all the secrets your mind holds" she said shuffling forward on her chair and putting her arms around my neck, "imagine all the stories you could tell me" she whispered.

I looked her up and down in disgust.

"Shame you won't hear them because no one can make me talk, not anymore" I growled.

River shrugged at me.

"What about the Fullmetal alchemist?" she asked and I faltered enough for her to notice, "ha, I knew there was a weak spot somewhere but I'm sure you have more than one."

I gritted my teeth in anger.

"Thats not his name" I snarled.

River's smile increased.

"Getting a bit defensive are we?" she asked.

River leaned forward.

"Don't worry, you can tell me, I won't tell anyone" she whispered.

"Except for Victor, don't lie to me" I scoffed.

She leaned back into her chair letting go of me.

"Thats right, you're an expert liar and liars can detect lies" she sneered, "what gave me away?"

"You blinked twice, slightly nervous I assume" I mocked her.

River shrugged. She had to be in her mid twenties, she was beautiful but for her line of work she had to be.

"Who wouldn't be, around such a beautifully dangerous creature like you" that was no compliment and I sure wasn't going to take it as one, I was over people thinking I was a creature. I was like any other human with a few psychological issues, I'm not the only one out there.

"Don't flatter me, I hope Victor knows he can't play me with my own games because you are no where as good at this than I am" I said tauntingly, they had a better chance torturing the answers out of me. This was just pathetic.

"So mean, I like it, I can tell you're very dominant but you love it when someone puts up a fight with you, you love confrontation"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Haven't we already evaluated me?" I asked, "yes I'm a psychopath but please can we skip to the next part of torturing because this is seriously boring me" I moaned at her.

River giggled slightly.

"Oh come on sweetheart, let me have my fun, Victor paid me a lot of money to do this, I've got to give it my best shot" well her best shot was terrible.

"Honestly you're doing a bad job so either step it up a notch or go home" I sneered at her, "you'd have a better chance at mothering me than seducing me, remember I was a kid who lost her parents at a young age so id most likely want someone to treat me like their own" I told her.

River nodded.

"You're right but unfortunately for me you're daddy's little girl so mothering you won't get anything out of you" she smiled, "but nice try trying to lead me in that direction, you're manipulative."

I slumped back in my chair looking around the room, bored.

"Okay time to step it up a notch" River said.

I glanced back at her.

"Lets go back to that weak spot I found" Victor already knew that I hid behind Ed all those years ago so there was no point her going back to him, "the boy who went by the name of the fullmetal alchemist" that made me sigh at her.

"Why is everyone so interested in him?" I asked, "I used the kid as protection, nothing more nothing less" it was true, I needed someone who had a reputation to hide behind and the moment I saw my opportunity to use Ed I jumped at it… I just didn't expect consequences that would come with it.

"You blinked twice, was that a lie Alexis?"

I looked up at her and she saw me falter again.

"Not as good of a liar I would have hoped, so what did this boy have on you?"

"He fed me chocolate and kept me away from you people, everyone knows I like my chocolate" I admitted.

She shook her head.

"But thats not enough to keep you around, theres something about him that made you stick around" I didn't say anything but stared at her blankly. "You have trust issues yet you seemed to have trusted him, why?" she asked.

"I don't know" I groaned getting irritated, "look I don't know what you're trying to get out of me but clearly whatever it is it's not working!" I snapped.

River smiled and leaned forward.

"I want a response out of you and thats exactly what you just gave me, now all I've got to do is dig until you crack" I shouldn't have reacted like I had but she still wasn't going to crack me.

"Didn't you know that diamonds don't crack?" I asked, she was still smiling.

"Oh but this one will, I think I know why you trusted him"

I looked at her.

I took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Thats what everyone else said but they always came up short" the only person who really knew why I decided to trust Ed was well Ed, but everyone had their own theory.

"I wouldn't be so sure" she said leaning forward, "you trusted him because he was someone who was seen as a higher individual than yourself yet he treated you like an equal, I don't think you've ever been treated as an equal by anyone else" I bit down on my tongue trying to not react. "There might be a lot I don't know but there is a common thing you two had that stood out to me, something that you don't seem to mention at all, the little brother, you have little brother."

I clenched my jaw but she saw it.

"He had a little brother I assumed so thats what you had in common, little brothers are handfuls when all you want to do is protect them, especially when they are all you have left so the question now is… who is your little brother?"

I barred my teeth at her.

"I hope you know who you're dealing with" I growled defensively at her, she had put the pieces together. The pieces Victor couldn't quite grasp.

"Oh sweetheart" River whispered leaning forward, "I know exactly who I'm dealing with."

She put her face in mine so I could feel her breath.

"Im dealing with a little girl who has trust issues because she feels abandoned, by everyone, so she uses that to fuel her anger to kill, to use others but in the end she still has no one, she's a nobody" her words hit me in the chest like a kick. "No one would love someone like you" she whispered.

Tears welled up in my eyes but I tried to hold them back.

"You're a monster, a monster trying to prove to everyone that you're a human, trying to prove yourself but in reality you may be beautiful on the outside but you're ugly on the inside"

River wiped my cheek when a tear ran down it and laughed softly.

"Sweetheart don't cry, it will only make you look ugly on the outside as well and then you won't be able to fool anyone" my chest felt tight and I had a lump in my throat.

River wiped the few tears that ran down my cheeks.

"And the diamond cracks…"

River kissed me on the cheek and stood up.

I gritted my teeth clenching my fists.

"I'll return the favour one day" I whispered letting my head hang forward, "if theres one thing I believe in, it's giving out my own karma, good or bad…"

She laughed cynically.

"You're such a turn on" she taunted with her back to me, "the broken girl with a very dark side" she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "I look forward to seeing the day I see you again, thats of course if Mr Sinclair lets you live" no one gets inside my head without consequences, one day she would see me again.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

So since I kind of did a Lexie and ran away… well I didn't run away, I was defiantly coming back but Roy didn't see it like that so I got the usual punishment that Lexie used to get. The locked in the house kind of one, I never used to see what the problem was until you actually experience it.

Being stuck in this tiny apartment against my will was not the sort of thing I was expecting since I was coming back baring good news, okay not great news but not bad either. Roy agreed to not tell the Fuhrer Ed was back yet with the ledger, just until Lexie had resurfaced but she hadn't, it had been at least a week since we last saw her in the snow and we hadn't had any type of contact.

Even Riley had seemed to disappear, so we had no clue how Victor Sinclair had reacted when he realised he actually didn't have the ledger.

I honestly couldn't take this not allowed to go anywhere anymore, I needed to at least find out if my sister was okay and the only person I thought I could go to was Cora's. She was the only person I could track down that had any sort of contact with Lexie.

I went against my uncles instructions and headed for the bar, I guess I was kind of turning into my sister but on a low level. My sister had done way worse at my age, the worst thing I had ever done was impersonate a solider which I didn't even get caught for oh and shoot Tom in the leg, but that was a total freak accident… Kinda.

I had no idea if Cora had heard from Lexie but it was my only option and Cora might not even tell me the truth, she had been lying to me all these years because Lexie told her to.

The bar was packed and I bumped straight into someone before I even managed to get into the front door, I looked down to see Riley and my face lit up.

"Oh my god Riley"

She stared at me for a second then smiled.

"Hey there" she said smiling up at me, "looking for me?" she asked.

"I was actually"

Riley's face lit up even more.

"Well what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Have you seen my sister?" I asked, "I haven't heard from her since she got back and I need to know she's alright."

The smile disappeared from her face.

"I was hoping you were here to tell me I didn't have to hide anymore…"

I frowned at her confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Riley looked past me and her eyes widened.

"Walk with me" she urged.

Riley linked arms with me pulling me down the path glancing over her shoulder quickly.

"About a week ago when Lexie got back she said I needed to hide, she had pissed off Victor somehow and she said I had to get out of there" that wasn't a good sign and if Riley couldn't get in contact with her then we had no way of knowing if she was all right. "But right now we have a bigger problem" Riley said making me walk faster.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You're being followed"

I went to glance over my shoulder.

"Don't look" she added quickly.

I stared forward.

"Im not quite sure who it is but I think its one of Victor's men"

My eyes widened.

"Does he know I'm Lexie's brother?" I asked.

Riley shrugged.

"Lexie said he didn't but there was nothing stopping him figuring it out" this wasn't good at all, "on the count of three we run" she said softly.

"But-"

"If he's coming after you then theres a reason and I'm sure its to use you against Lexie, neither of us can get caught" Riley explained, "one, two, three!"

We both took off down the road but came up short when two more men started walking straight for us.

"Shit" Riley muttered.

I turned around and the third guy was getting closer.

"We're out numbered but surly they won't touch us in a crowded street" Riley muttered.

One of the men pulled out a gun and fired it in the air. The street turned into chaos, when I turned around one of the men were right behind me and tried to grab me.

I shoved him away.

"Get off me!" Riley screeched.

I spun around and one of the men had ahold of Riley.

I slammed my body against him making him stumble, I then kicked my foot out making him trip and he let go of Riley. The guy behind me wrapped his arms around me restraining me.

"Run Riley!" I snapped.

She hesitated.

"Now!" I shouted.

Riley watched me for a few moments not wanting to leave me but once the guy got to his feet she took off knowing that it would end worse if Victor Sinclair got ahold of both of us. She disappeared into the crowd and a bag was stuck over my head. I fought back but my head hit something and I blacked out.

When I came back around the bag was still on my head but my hands were tied behind my back and I was gaged. I was being dragged by the arms while my feet were dragging behind me, I started struggling but whoever was holding me their grip tightened making me squint in pain.

"Now I did some of my own research" someone spoke up.

I was pushed to my knees and I felt a gun put to my head. I kept calm listening to whoever was speaking. I wasn't sure if they were speaking to me or someone else.

"And thanks to Mistress River it turns out you did know them and you lied to me" the voice was male and sounded old and not happy, "and little did I know one of them was your very own brother so I thought it was time to meet him…"

The bag was pulled off my head and I squinted adjusting to the light.

In front of me was my sister sitting in a chair staring at me with wide eyes, she was bloody and battered. They had been torturing her but she had obviously kept quiet from the state of her.

"Danny" Lexie whispered staggering off the chair and towards me but Duke stepped past me forcing her back in her chair and slamming his fist into her face.

I squinted when blood dripped from her mouth but she didn't seem bothered by the pain, she was too focused on me.

"I always wondered what or who was your weakest link" said another man walking around her and bending down in front of me, this was the one who was originally talking. He had slicked back silver grey hair and deep blue eyes, "hello Daniel Mustang, I'm Victor Sinclair and welcome to your sisters world" his smile was devilish and nasty.

"Don't you fucking touch him!" Lexie shouted struggling against Duke, "haven't you already taken enough from me!" She screamed.

I flinched at the pain in her voice.

The gun was pressed harder against my head while Victor continued to smile at me.

Lexie struggled against Duke but there was no way she was getting past him in her state.

"Ill do it" Lexie cried making Victor smile even more.

"And the girl made of diamonds finally breaks" Victor stood up straight with his hands behind his back, "not so tough now are you Alexis?"

She stared up at him in fear.

This is the man she was petrified of and I could see it in her face. I had never seen my sister so scared and it hurt me to see her like this, to see what she would endure just to keep me safe.

Victor nodded at Duke and he let her go.

Lexie fell off the chair and crawled over to me.

"Im so sorry" she whispered putting her bloody hands on my cheeks, her skin was cold and her hands were shaking. "I didn't want you to get involved" she shakily pulled the gag out of my mouth but I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say, my sister who was fierce and beautiful was now bloody, battered and bruised.

Tears rose in my eyes and I clenched my jaw shut.

"No don't cry" she whispered shaking her head, "you don't need to worry, ill handle it" she smiled but I could see it hurt for her to smile. The last time I had seen her like this was nearly five years ago when the military found her dying in an alley and it seems the same people who had done that had done this as well.

"Handle it?" I asked, "you can barley stand up" I whispered.

Lexie shook her head.

"Im fine" she lied, "Wheres Ed?" she asked, "I need to see him."

I frowned at her, confused.

"At library I think" I paused, she was going to go after Ed so she could give the ledger to Victor in exchange for me. "No Lexie don't" I said shaking my head, "don't be stupid…"

She pulled back and staggered to her feet in pain.

"If you lay a hand on him then there will be complications" she snarled at Victor.

Victor shrugged.

"Get what I want and we won't have a problem" Victor stated.

He nodded at Duke and he rushed forward slamming his fist against Lexie's jaw and she stumbled to the ground.

Lexie laid there for a second letting the blood drip from her mouth.

"But don't talk down to me" Victor said using the toe of his foot to push Lexie onto her back, she stared up at him. "Now I suggest you hurry along and get that ledger, you've got 48 hours until I expect to see your face again" he said standing over her, "and then we can discuss what we are going to do with you afterwards."

Lexie rolled onto her knees and staggered to her feet.

"Lexie don't be stupid" I spoke up trying to get up but the guy behind me pushed me back to the ground.

"Don't tell them anything until I get back" she said limping out the door, "I will be back."

Victor bent down in front of me again.

"Now I think its time for us to have a little chat" he said smiling at me.

I leaned back away from him not saying a word. Lexie was scared of these people for a reason.


	34. Chapter 29

_**Chapter twenty-nine**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I needed that ledger or Victor was going to take the one thing I loved most in this world away from me, I didn't care about the consequences. I needed that ledger and I knew exactly who had it but it was getting late. I needed to get to the library before it shut but I wasn't going very fast, I had to use walls and fences to keep myself up while I limped down the street.

I don't care how much pain I was in right now I wasn't going to give up, Victor wouldn't hold back from killing my brother and it wouldn't be without pain. My brother could easily suffer for all the things I've done, I had only suffered half of Victor's wraith and right now I could barley walk.

I could feel the blood run down my face from my split lip and my jaw was so bruised I could hardly move it, my ankle though was defiantly broken but I endured the pain shooting up my leg as I put my weight on it. I had suffered worse than this before and I could cry all I wanted later but right now I needed that ledger.

I came to stop staring at the set of stairs I had to get up, I bit down on my pride and crawled up them ignoring the odd stares, no one had the decency to offer help. When I got to the top I pushed through the doors biting down the pain.

"Ma'am are you okay?" the lady behind the desk asked, I ignored her limping across the foyer trying to keep my balance. She came around the desk wide eyed following me, "ma'am-"

"Fuck off" I spat at her.

she stumbled back when she saw me properly. From that reaction I obviously didn't look too good.

"If I wanted your help I would have asked" my voice was loud enough to make heads turn my way in the library.

"Lexie?" Someone said curiously.

I turned back around and Al was staring at me.

His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Oh my god" he rushed forward towards me. "What happened?" he asked pulling my arm around his shoulders and taking the weight off my broken ankle.

I leant against him making him hold me up.

"Wheres your brother?" I asked.

"Lexie-"

"Take me to Ed!" I snapped.

"Do you want me to call-"

"No no its fine, ill deal with her" Al called back interrupting the lady at the desk, "Lexie what happened to you?" I didn't say anything trying to keep myself conscious. "Brother!" Al called out when we spotted Ed.

Ed glanced over his shoulder.

"What…"

He stood up.

"Holy shit what happened to you?" Ed asked staring at me.

Al dragged me over to him.

"you look like you were-"

"Tortured?" I asked, "yes I was now give me the ledger" I said sticking my hand in Ed's pockets.

"Whoa Lexie you can't be so causal about it and then expect me to give you the ledger!" Ed exclaimed pulling my hand out of his pocket.

I struggled against him.

"Just give it to me!" I spat, "I need it!"

I held onto to Al trying to keep myself up while fighting against Ed.

"Oh my god Lexie stop it!" Ed snapped, "sit down for gods sake, you can't even stand" Al tried to get me to sit down but if I did I wouldn't be able to get back up.

"No!" I shouted, "I don't want to sit!"

"Lexie stop it" Ed growled.

I tried fight them both off but they won getting me to sit down in the chair.

"You're causing a scene and unless you want the military crawling around here I suggest you stop" I suddenly shut up when I realised Ed was right.

"Just give me the ledger Ed and ill be gone"

They both stared at me.

"Oh yeah thats even if you can get out of that chair now" Ed said crossing his arms.

"Lexie you're a mess" Al said bending down in front of me, "you've got to tell us what happened" I didn't have time for this but Victor had already broken me and I was about to crack some more.

"I need the ledger" I kept repeating but they both just stared at me.

I clenched my fists gritting my teeth.

I didn't want to explain this whole mess to them, I could deal with it myself, I didn't need their help.

"Where is it?" I growled at them.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

My eyes darted around the room but no one was watching us. No one wanted to get involved just in case they came out of it looking like me.

"Where is it?" I asked back, I was so close to snapping but the only thing that was holding me back was my brothers safety.

"Im not going to play games with you Alexis, either tell us what happened or we'll take you back to Mustang" Ed told me.

I stared up at him.

"Don't threaten me" I growled.

He shrugged but Al could see me getting angry.

"Lexie you need to calm down" Al said slowly but I was still staring at Ed.

"Give it to me" I growled at him.

Al touched my ankle and I flinched at pain.

"Don't touch me" I hissed at Al.

My eyes darted back to Ed.

"Give it to me!"

Al touched my ankle and I glared back at him.

"What part of don't touch didn't you get?!" I snapped at Al, he flinched slightly.

"I can fix your ankle" he insisted.

"Its broken, how are you supposed to fix a broken ankle?" I asked.

Al sighed.

"I didn't spend a year in Xing for nothing Lexie" I blinked at him, "let me fix it, okay?"

"Fine" I muttered, "but after that I want the ledger" I pointed out.

Ed opened his mouth.

"Not right now" Al muttered up at him, "she's not thinking straight."

I stared down at Al.

"Excuse me" I spat, "I'm right here and I'm thinking perfectly straight" I was fine. All I need was that ledger then id be out of their way, so I was a bit battered and bruised but that didn't mean I wasn't thinking straight.

"This is going to hurt" Al told me ignoring my attitude.

I waved him off.

"Just do it already-"

Al clapped his hands and put it around my ankle, I shut up straight away and my hands clamped around the arms of the chair. I bit down the pain as it shot up my leg, it was a hot sensation but I had never felt anything like it.

I sunk in the chair not making a sound as Al took his hands away.

They both stared at me.

"Well that shut her up" Ed muttered.

Al elbowed him.

"Brother this isn't the time" Al growled.

My eyes fluttered closed.

"Oh no you don't" Ed said bending down tapping my head, "there is no way you're passing out right now, Lexie."

My eyes opened and I moved my foot around. It wasn't broken but it still hurt, Al had fixed the break but the swelling was still there.

I grabbed Ed's collar pulling myself up and putting my face in his.

"Wheres the ledger Ed?"

"Seriously we're back to that?" he asked.

Ed pulled my hand off him.

"Come on we're going to go see Mustang" Ed said grabbing my arm.

I gritted my teeth.

"Im not going to see him!" I snapped, "all I need is the ledger-"

"Do you honestly think I'm going to give it to you Alexis!" Ed snapped, "It looks like the guy we were trying to keep it from has broke you and convinced you to go get it for him, I'm certainly not giving it to you!"

"Brother!" Al snapped at Ed.

I leaped at Ed and we hit the ground.

"Lexie!" Al shrieked.

I held Ed to the ground.

"You honestly think I would break that easy!" I shouted at him, "that man shut me in a dark room for a week and I didn't break, he tortured me and I didn't break!"

Al grabbed me pulling me off Ed.

"Whats the one thing that would make me break?!"

Ed leaned up and his eyes widened.

"Oh shit he's got Danny" he whispered, "he bargained Danny's life for the ledger…"

Al let go of me and I sunk to the ground.

"Why did you let Danny go with you's?" I asked, "this is why I stayed hidden so no one would get involved and now Victor's got Danny and if I don't get him the ledger then he's going to kill Danny-"

"Lexie stop"

"-this wasn't my intention, if you guys would have stayed out of it-"

"Lexie shut up!" Ed snapped shutting me up.

He sat in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders.

"If I knew this was going to happen I would have kept Danny at my side, I know you're not thinking about anything else but your brothers life"

I wiped the back of my sleeve against my bleeding lip.

"I need the ledger" I muttered.

Ed sighed when he realised I wasn't mentally stable to think properly.

"We need to go see Mustang now"

Ed pulled me to my feet.

"How the hell is that man going to help?!" I suddenly snapped trying to jerk away from Ed but he held onto my arm.

"I know sometimes he's a complete jerk but unless you have anyone better to go see I suggest you we go see him" I fought against Ed.

"Guys this isn't time to fight" Al muttered but we both ignored him.

"He's the last person I want to see, he's the one who was supposed to-"

Ed grabbed my arms and held them by my side keeping me still.

"Alexis stop it, this isn't the time to be fighting me with this!" He snapped grabbing my attention, "you just told us you've trapped in a dark room for a week, that would have made you relapse and you were tortured like look at the state of you, you are not going to be making any rational decisions right now!"

I stayed quiet staring at him.

"Now please just listen to me, Mustang said that if you came to us then he needed to see you and it's not to arrest you, he's got a plan and it will work in our favour to get Danny back, got it?"

I nodded.

Ed let go of me.

"Good now lets go" he said turning me around and pushing me forward, "and keep your hood on, we're about to walk into Central command and you're still a wanted criminal" I listened to him putting my hood over my head, I honestly had no better ideas.


	35. Chapter 30

_**Chapter thirty**_

 **Lexie's POV**

So I agreed to go see Roy because Ed and Al insisted he had a plan and they were right, I wasn't thinking clearly. I was recovering from my relapses and the multiply fists to the head Duke just loved giving out to me oh and the drowning, so yes I was defiantly not thinking clearly but this was ridiculous.

"Okay I get we need to see Roy and he's still at Central command and its dark, but how are we supposed to sneak me in there?" I asked staring at central command in front of us. "There are still soldiers crawling around the place and I'm still a wanted criminal, Grumman hasn't lifted the bounty off my head yet" it was going to look extra suspicious if I go waltzing in there with my hood up.

"Do you still fit in the air vents?" Ed asked.

I stared up at him.

"Do I look seventeen to you?" I asked back.

Ed opened his mouth.

"You know what don't answer that" I muttered rubbing my jaw, it was still aching which was giving me a headache.

"Look all we've got to do is walk in, not draw any attention to ourselves and get to Mustang's office" Ed said like it was that easy.

"Because me looking the way I am" I said gesturing to me, "still bleeding might I add, is totally not going to draw attention" I wiped my bleeding lip with the back of my sleeve squinting at the pain.

"Yeah you don't look good at all"

I glared at Al for even speaking up.

"Thanks Alphonse" I spat, "I don't feel good either and yet you two insisted to drag me to the one place where I might get beat up a bit more!"

Al went quiet and Ed glanced at me.

"You've still got your bad attitude and you're not repeating yourself like a broken record like you were before so I think you're recovering quite quickly" Ed said shrugging.

"Probably because my body is getting used to all the beatings" I muttered to myself.

"Like muscle memory" Al chuckled slightly.

I glared at him and his face dropped.

"Sorry not the right time" he whispered.

I turned away.

"I don't think I can face Roy at the moment anyway"

They grabbed me before I could walk away.

"All we'll do is fight, thats all we ever do and especially this being about Danny" I groaned.

"Got any better ideas to help him?" Ed asked.

I turned back around.

"No" I sighed.

Ed took his coat off and handed it to me.

"Put this on and make yourself look like a kid" I frowned up at him, "it will be big on you making you look smaller" he said explaining his idea.

"Because a kid walking through Central Command is so much better" I mocked him.

"At least you won't be recognised as a wanted criminal" he mocked me back.

"Guys" Al moaned, "I thought you would have grown out of this arguing."

We both glared at him and he pointed to Central command.

"Can we please do this" Al said.

I pulled Ed's coat on, it was far too big for me.

"Fine, lets get this over with but I'm not responsible for how I react towards Roy" I muttered at them. I kept my head down not making eye contact with anyone, no one was expecting me to walk into Central command so it was possible to do this as long as no one recognised me.

"Just act natural" Ed whispered.

Both Al and I stared at him.

"Im just saying" he added.

I put my head down.

"You try acting natural walking into central command as a wanted criminal" I muttered under my breath, but we passed hardly any soldiers and the ones we did pass were too busy focusing on their jobs or talking. So it was pretty easy for once getting to Roy's office, but the next part I might have lost it a bit.

"You bastard!"

Roy jumped from behind his desk staring at me, I was already climbing onto his desk trying to reach him by the time someone managed to drag me off it.

"Mature" Roy muttered.

I struggled against Ed but him holding me back was only making me angrier.

I slammed my heel into his foot and he grunted in pain making him release me slightly, I turned around slamming my elbow into his jaw and Ed staggered back letting me go clutching his jaw.

I tuned back to Roy climbing over the desk trying to get to him again.

"Cheap shot Alexis!" Ed snapped at me.

"Someone please restrain her" Roy said leaning back in his chair when I tried to grab him, two sets of hands grabbed me hauling off the desk. They stretched my arms out pushing my chest flat on the desk.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Havoc and Hawkeye pinning me down.

"Well" Roy sighed at me, "that worked out well for you, didn't it Alexis" I struggled against them but they only tightened their grip on me.

"Let me go" I growled.

I glanced up at Roy. He ignored my request.

"Not looking so good I see, cover blown I'm assuming?"

I gritted me teeth.

"Because you let my fucking brother get involved!" I spat at him, "you were supposed to protect him, he's your nephew!"

Roy leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk staring down at me.

"I told your brother to stay out of it but he didn't listen to me" Roy said narrowing his eyes at me, "he's sixteen Alexis, I have no power over him just like I had absolutely no power over you when you were his age, he learnt his bad habits from you."

I calmed down slightly.

"You were supposed-"

"Your brother is old enough to make his own decisions and if he didn't listen to me then what can I do?!" Roy snapped at me, "you sure as hell never listened to me so why would he?! He was simply copying what you used to do so if you're going to blame anyone blame yourself!"

I shut up and stopped struggling.

Roy sighed rubbing his head.

"How about you explain to me what happened" he waved Havoc and Hawkeye off, they let go of me and I stepped back controlling my anger.

"If I don't give the ledger to Victor then he's going to kill Danny" I said crossing my arms gritting my teeth, "so-ouch!"

Ed dropped his fist on top of my head cutting me off.

"Cheap shot" he spat at me while I rubbed my head.

I looked up at him.

"Sorry" I muttered, "I lost my temper…"

He rubbed his jaw.

"No kidding"

I looked back at Roy, I stepped forward and leaned over the desk.

"If you give me the ledger I can make sure he doesn't kill Danny" I said staring at Roy.

He raised his eyebrows and chuckled slightly.

"And she's back to that strategy" Ed muttered throwing his hands in the air, "she practically attacked us in the library for the thing" I ignored him still staring at Roy who was finding me funny.

"Do you find this funny?" I asked.

I pointed my finger at Roy.

"All I want is the ledger and ill be gone-"

Roy lashed out grabbing me wrist and pushing my hand down so my finger wasn't in his face.

"So it seems Victor Sinclair has brainwashed you again" Roy said staring at me.

I frowned.

"No he tried and it didn't work" I growled, "just because he tried didn't mean he succeeded."

Roy shook his head.

"He might not have brainwashed you in the way he had done before" Roy stated, "but he's made you believe that the only way to save your brother is to get the ledger to him" Roy leaned forward. "You honestly believe thats the only way to save your brother?" he asked.

I nodded and he grabbed the glass of water on his desk and threw it at me.

I stumbled back in shock when the water hit my face.

"Then wake the fuck up!"

I was still too stunned to react.

Roy got up and walked around his desk grabbing my shirt and pulling me up onto my toes.

"Start thinking again and stop letting that man get inside your head, don't let him control your mind because I know you're stronger than that!"

Roy shoved me back and I was forced into the chair that was behind me.

"Then how the fuck am I supposed to save my brother?!" I snapped wiping my face dry with my sleeve, I was too scared to think of any other way to get my brother back just in case I got him killed.

"You're not" Roy said standing over me.

I shrunk down in my seat.

"Your job wasn't to look after him, I suspected this might happen when Danny found you and started following in your footsteps by disobeying me so" Roy paused and crossed his arms. "I have a plan, how long do you have until he wants the ledger?" Roy asked.

"Forty-eight hours" I replied still staring up at him.

"Good, you've got twenty-four hours to clean yourself up and get your head on straight"

I raised my eyebrows.

"And what about the other twenty-four hours?" I asked.

"You're going to lure him out, no one in here but you know what he looks like" Roy sat back behind his desk and I sat up, "you tell Sinclair that we will organise a meeting to swap the ledger for your brother but you will not be doing the exchange" that wasn't the whole plan though, Roy always has well thought out plans and this was too simple and easy.

"And?" I asked, "are you going to explain to whole plan to me?" I asked.

"No" he said crossing his arms, "I cannot afford you revealing our plan to Sinclair, if he thinks there is more to it he will torture the information out of you" so he was keeping me in the dark. That wasn't fair.

"I wouldn't tell him even if he tried, I didn't tell him anything when he stuck me in a room depriving me of sleep" I argued.

"I know you think you're fine but you're not, he brain washed you Alexis, brainwashed you to go after the ledger when you know very well the damage he could cause with it" Roy argued back. "I need you for once in your life to trust me, I know what I'm doing."

I clenched my fists.

"So you're not going to tell me anything but lure him out?!" I snapped.

Roy nodded.

"Yeah pretty much, I think you've already done enough" thats all he was going to tell me and I had to go with it. I had no one else to turn to but I also had to believe my uncle could do it. I did have a lot of faith in his plans and schemes because generally they worked but there was something that was making me not believe him, maybe I had been brainwashed to believe the only way to get my brother back was by giving Victor the ledger.

"And thats all you're going to tell me about it?" I asked repeating myself.

Roy nodded.

"Thats all you need to know"

I stood up and pointed at him.

"Fine but if my brother dies its on you" I growled. "And give the Fuhrer a message for me" I pulled out the little book from my pocket and threw it at Roy, "thats all the fucking proof he needs to arrest Victor Sinclair and my job is done, I'm no longer working for him!"

Roy ducked out the way before it hit him in the head.

"You didn't have the throw the damn thing at me!" Roy snapped.

I smiled.

"And I see you've shaved the moustache" I added laughing to myself, "good decision" I knew he'd take my advice. We might fight but he did have a habit of listening to me, he always knew when I was being honest.

I turned on my heels, now that I had spoken to Roy I could go back to Danny.

"Im not finished with you!" Roy snapped, I ignored him. "Alexis you're in no condition to go back right now, you've got 24 hours" if he wanted to stop me he was going to have to use force, I had had enough of him. "Fine you leave me with no choice" I heard him mutter.

The moment my hand touched the door handle I felt something land in my neck.

I paused pulling it out of my neck, it was a dart.

"Seriously?" I asked turning around.

I blinked a few times leaning back against the door when my body went weak.

Hawkeye was holding the gun.

"I can't believe I've been drugged by you people again" my words were slurred and my eyes shut.

I slid down the door and hit the ground passing out. First my brother now my uncle, sums up my family.


	36. Chapter 31

_**Chapter thirty-one**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I felt exhausted when I came around and would have stayed asleep if it wasn't for the pain my body was in.

I rolled over and froze gasping in pain, I clutched my rib cage jerking my body awake.

"Shouldn't have moved" I growled at myself, "should have not moved" I had gone ridged trying to figure out a way of moving that wasn't going to hurt as much.

"Lift yourself up so you're not leaning your weight on the sore spot" someone muttered to me.

I nodded.

"Right…"

I pushed myself up on my elbow and shifted my weight lying down on my back.

I stretched my legs out.

I frowned sitting up slowly, I opened my eyes and Ed was sitting on the end of the couch with a book in his hands. I relaxed relieved it was him.

"Its fine just use me as your personal foot rest" Ed muttered.

I squinted when the sun hit my eyes.

"I was wondered why the couch felt funny" I grumbled still squinting, "and what is that light?" I asked pulling my hood over my head shielding my eyes and lying back down.

"The sun"

I sat up fast knocking the book out of Ed's hands.

"And I totally wasn't reading that" he added watching it fall the ground.

"Oh my god its morni-"

I froze wrapping my arms around my rib cage gasping.

Ed glanced at me.

"Shouldn't have sat up so fast"

I shook my head.

"Nope" I squeaked, "that really hurt…"

I glanced out the window, it was morning and I looked around frowning. I was back home except there was no Roy, he probably left Ed to deal with my tantrum id have waking up after being knocked out.

I moaned when I felt the sharp pain in my head.

"Everything hurts" I groaned clutching my head tensing my sore body.

"At least you're feeling pain, that means your brain is registering things because you weren't feeling much pain last night" Ed said.

I stared back at him and he raised his eyebrows.

"Lexie don't freak-"

I staggered off the couch.

"I have to get back to Danny!"

Ed pulled me backwards onto the couch before I stumbled to the floor.

"Just wait" he said holding my shoulders so I stayed sitting, "you've slept for a couple of hours, its still early and it defiantly won't help if you freak out" he was right but all I could think about was my brother.

I looked at Ed and his face softened.

"I have to go, he's got my brother and theres no way for sure if that man is going to keep his end of the bargain Ed" I didn't trust Victor and I certainly didn't trust him with Danny, he knew Danny was my biggest weakness and if anything happened I would never forgive myself. "I'd rather them hurt me than him" I whispered, "I can take it."

"I know and I would let you go but you won't get very far at the moment, Mustang has this place surrounded and won't let you go until he's spoken to you" I was in no shape to fight my way out of here.

I leaned forward putting my head in my hands.

"The longer I'm away the more impatient he's going to get" I whispered.

I stood up straight slowly so I didn't lose my balance.

I walked to the front door slowly, Ed didn't stop me or say a word only watched me. I opened the front door and Breda and Havoc stood there.

They both stared at me.

I shook my head closing the door.

"Nope I'm not dealing with those two" I muttered limping over to one of the windows.

I stared out the window and spotted Armstrong out on the street.

I sighed.

"Is that Armstrong?" I asked.

"Probably" Ed said still watching me.

I turned away from the window frowning.

"Well I'm defiantly not going to deal with Armstrong" I muttered forgetting about the idea of disappearing out of the window, I had a throbbing head ache that I was eager to get rid of. I was sure I could find a cure to that in my room.

I walked into my bedroom and froze in shock.

My mouth fell open.

"He changed my room into a study" I whispered, "the fucking bastard!" I shouted.

"Do you have to shout?" Ed sighed at me.

I turned around and pointed at him.

"No wonder I woke up on the couch, I don't even have a bed anymore!" I exclaimed, "I can't believe he's done this to me" I squinted when pain shot through my head. I really needed to calm down or find something to drink.

"Well you did disappear for three years"

I stared at Ed.

"I was coming back" I blurted.

Ed raised his eyebrows.

"We thought you were dead"

I waved him off walking into the kitchen.

I sat on the floor and kicked at the lock on the no Lexie cupboard.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked while I kept kicking the lock.

"Seeing what has been confiscated from my brother" I was hoping that my brother may have had a bad streak in him and had some helpful things confiscated.

"Why?" Ed asked standing at the counter watching me.

I stopped and stared up at him.

"Because I feel like it, I can't leave this place so I've got find something to do before I actually lose my mind" I kicked the lock again and the latch fell to the floor.

"Maybe you should rest while you've got the chance"

I stared back up at Ed.

"Don't treat me like a child Edward" I growled up at him, "you remember how pissed off you got when Greed kidnapped Al in dublith?" I asked him.

Ed didn't respond.

"Exactly, so stop treating me like everyone else does, I know you understand how scared I am but you telling me what I should be doing is only going to make me fight you back"

Ed sat on the ground beside me.

"Okay yes you're right, you're freaking out and I get that but what are you looking for?" He asked when I stuck my head into he cupboard.

"I don't know" I was actually looking for alcohol to numb this pain but I knew the moment I told him that he'd stop me, no one liked drunk me but it was the only thing that would make me feel numb.

I started pulling out the stuff that was in the cupboard.

I picked up a lighter and frowned.

"What has my brother been doing?" I muttered to myself shoving the lighter into my pocket. God knows why Roy took a lighter from Danny.

"So this is all the stuff Mustang confiscates from you two?" Ed asked joining me looking into the cupboard.

"Yep"

Ed reached in and picked up a book, on the front it said the basics of alchemy.

Ed glanced at me and I shrugged.

"Not mine, must be Danny's" I admitted, "he's got the brains to study it but Roy would not agree with it" unfortunately books were not my best friend. Danny could read better than I could, him not being dyslexic and I'm sure learning alchemy could give him a bit of advantage in life.

"He never mentioned knowing alchemy" Ed muttered flipping through the book.

"Danny tends to do as he's told…"

I frowned thinking about the recent things he'd been doing.

"Well he used to" I muttered.

I picked up an old dagger.

"Oh my god, I wondered where that had gone to like years ago" I said twirling it in my hand.

Ed looked up from the book and looked at it then to me.

"Seriously?" he asked.

I shoved it into my boot.

"You never know when one will come in handy"

He rolled his eyes at me and I stuck my head back into the cupboard.

I pulled out a folder that had my name on it.

"Now this is intriguing" it didn't belong to Roy because it had Danny's hand writing on it.

Ed looked up from the book again.

"Oh yeah I saw that" he said as I flicked through it, "your brother spent two years on that trying to link murders to you to convince everyone you were alive" I shuffled through the photos. "He didn't do a bad job but he over looked a few things" a lot of the killings in here were the ones Riley had done.

"Yeah no kidding, he was way closer than I thought" I shuffled through the photos and came across one with two guys with just knives in their necks. "Okay that one had nothing to do with me" I paused turning it upside down, "oh wait no that was me" I muttered recognising the two guys. They were the body guards of Victor's associate Harry.

I glanced up and Ed was staring at me.

"Don't look at me like that" I growled at him, "you know I did what I had to to keep my cover even though its blown up in my own face" I never forgot the face of my victims, I didn't deserve to unlike when I did as a child. I felt guilty for killing the people I had but when it came down to it, it was either me or them and unfortunately I happened to be the better opponent.

"You feel guilty though, I can see it" I didn't say anything throwing the folder aside, "true killers don't have a conscious and guilt proves that you have a conscious" Ed said.

I stopped for a second.

"So you don't think I'm a killer?" I asked staring into the cupboard.

I spotted a bottle up the back.

"No, you're not meant to be a killer, I think you're meant to protect people"

I laughed shaking my head.

"I can't even protect my own brother so what makes you think I can protect other people?" I asked reaching out and grabbing the bottle.

"Because I've seen you in action, you protected Ling when it went against your best interests"

I pulled out the bottle.

"Looks like my brother does have a bad side" I said holding up the bottle of vodka not wanting to talk about me, "just what I was looking for" I chimed happily.

I pulled the lid off.

"No Lexie you know how you get when you drink" Ed said trying to grab the bottle off me.

I whacked his hand away from me and took a mouth of it.

I choked on it.

That was not vodka.

"Dusty water" I gasped letting Ed taking the bottle, "dammit who the hell put bad tasting water in a vodka bottle!"

I sighed.

"of course Roy did" I muttered getting to my feet. That dusty water did nothing for the pain I was in, I needed something a lot stronger. "Where is the alcohol in this place?!" I snapped opening the other cupboards, "you can't tell me that Roy doesn't drink anymore because that is something he would never give up" but everywhere I looked I came up empty handed.

"Calm down" I ignored Ed making a mess of the place trying to find something the ease this pain, "you know you shouldn't drink anyway, remember all the stupid things you do when you drink."

I turned around and glared up at Ed.

"You might be able to deal with pain but I can't!" I shouted at him, "if I'm not distracted I can feel it so when you feel something you numb it!" the pain wasn't just physical but it was mental as well. Every second that passed my brother was closer to having a bullet in his head and the thought of losing him would honestly break me in a way I wouldn't be able to recover from.

"No you don't numb it" Ed said grabbing my arms before I knocked something over, "you endure-"

I tried to shove him away but he wrapped me in my arms restraining me.

Ed pulled me back so my back was against his chest and I had no way of getting out of his grip. He held me tightly.

"Look I know its hard" he said softly, "pain hurts so much and it doesn't help when you feel useless and scared but never numb it" I stopped struggling but he didn't let go. "You endure this pain, both mentally and physically so you know to never let it happen again…"

I took in a deep breath and leant back against him.

"I never meant for this to happen" I whispered, "no one but me was supposed to get caught up in this" I could take the pain if I was the only one receiving it, then I could numb it all I wanted and not worry but now Danny was stuck in the middle of it and I was dancing in the middle of Victor's palm.

"You can't take this guy on yourself, I know you want to but you can't and now its time to trust us" Ed let go of me but I didn't move. I held onto his arms worried if I let go I wouldn't be able to hold myself up.

I gripped his arms tightly coming to the realisation I couldn't do this by myself.

"I know you feel like you're in the dark of a plan to save Danny but its for the best, trust me when I say we have a plan that will work"

I sighed calming myself down and feeling the pain.

I let go of Ed.

"Promise me my brother is going to get out of this unscathed?" I asked turning around.

Ed nodded.

"I promise…"

I leaned up on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck hugging him.

Ed hugged me back softly.

"Okay" I whispered.

I dug my face into his neck relaxing.

This is what I needed. I was pretending to be so strong but I was in so much pain and I was terrified, terrified of the outcome and Ed could see that.

I leant against him making him hold my weight and just for a second I let go of everything letting him make me feel safe, I didn't like relying on anyone but right now I needed to. I needed someone to help me see clearly because I couldn't do that on my own when it involved my own brothers safety.

"We've got company" Ed muttered letting me go, I knew who he was talking about.

"I see you've made a mess for me already" Roy spoke up.

I turned around and he was looking around the place.

"Im assuming you were looking for something like this" he held up a bottle of whiskey, I knew he hadn't given up his alcohol, he had just made sure to get it out of my reach.

"Yeah but instead I got a whole lot of old dusty water" I muttered crossing my arms.

Roy glanced at Ed.

"And thats my cue to leave" Ed muttered.

He patted me on the head.

"Good luck" he said leaving me and Roy alone.

I sat back on the couch crossing my arms and staring up at Roy. This conversation was not going to end well between us, I could tell by the way we were staring at each other.


	37. Chapter 31 p2

_**Chapter thirty-one part 2**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Roy stood there staring at me like he was thinking about what he should say, I still sat on the couch staring up at him. I certainly wasn't going to talk first, I just wanted to get back to Danny and make sure he was okay. It wouldn't be in Victor's best interests to hurt Danny since I was his only way to get to the ledger and he knew that if he hurt my brother I might completely lose myself but I still wanted to get back to him.

"You should sleep more" Roy finally said like he was offering me an idea that my body wasn't screaming at me.

I stared at him.

"Probably but I won't" this one on one conversation wasn't going to end well, they never did between us.

Once upon a time when I was a little kid and Roy was merely a solider with no rank he was honestly my favourite person, but the moment he came back from that war as a hero, knowing all the people he had killed had destroyed him and he brought back the information that destroyed me. And the more trouble I caused the further we grew apart till we would no longer see eye to eye, as stubborn as each other in our ways.

"I know you want to get back to Danny-"

"No fucking way Roy" I said sarcastically interrupting him, "because the deadliest man right now has him and would kill him without a second thought!" I snapped.

Roy sat on the table in front of me and pointed at me.

"And who was it that led that man to your brother?" Roy asked, "you Alexis because you didn't think this through."

I pointed to myself.

"Me!" I shouted, "I'm sorry for trying to take down the man who used me and plenty of innocent kids, he's a monster who couldn't be touched, I was the one who could get to him!"

Roy leaned forward putting his head in his hands sighing.

"So I might have fucked up and now he's got Danny but don't you think I'm trying to fix that!" the tears in my eyes started to sting, "I'm trying to fix the things I've done wrong thats why I need to get rid of the man who made me do them and don't think you could get ahold of him because you can't touch him, thats why no one has gone for him but the moment Grumman saw an opportunity he took it and if it was anyone else doing it you wouldn't have hesitated either!"

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Lexie-"

"No!" I wiped my hands across wet face when he looked at me, "I would rather be doing this than sitting in the damn fucking cell rotting and you can't say you wouldn't have chosen this option if you were in my position, I know I've fucked up so many damn times and I probably deserve all this but Danny doesn't…"

I wrapped my arms around my aching rips. The more upset I got the more they hurt.

"But you're right, this is my fault and I regret it, everything I put you and Danny through because I was selfish" I leaned forward on my legs, "I'm sorry but you can't change anything, I can't go back and change the past as much as id love to…"

Roy took in a deep breath.

"You're such a stupid child" he growled.

I glared up at him.

"Do I look like a fucking child to you?!" I snapped, "I'm not a damn child anymore so don't treat me like one, you might not want me to grow up but I am so get past this thing in your head that I'm still that little kid you came home to eleven years go because I'm not!"

I sat up and prodded my finger into his shoulder.

"Does it scare you that I'm not that little kid anymore?" I asked.

Roy gritted his teeth.

"You scare me" he growled, "if you're not a child anymore then id hate to see what you're really capable of-"

I laughed mockingly at him leaning back in the couch.

"Im sure I'm not any scarier than you uncle" I sneered at him.

"How many people have you killed over these three years trying to accomplish this mission of yours?" he asked, "I'm sure more than I can count on both of my hands."

I raised my eyebrows at him in astonishment.

"And how many people did you kill in the Civil War?" I asked back, "lets just take in account that these were innocent lives" I added.

Roy pointed at me.

"What do you know about that war?" he prodded me back in the shoulder, "you know fucking nothing about that war" he said defensively. "I realised the moment I killed those people that I had no right to my life, if I could kill with no consequences then I was a monster but I wanted better for you and your brother" he confessed.

I looked away from him.

"I still pray to a god that I don't believe in that you find a life away from all this…" Roy whispered.

I stared at the ground letting the tears roll down my cheeks.

"I never wanted this life for you but you chose it anyway and there was nothing I could do" Roy grabbed my hand and shoved something in it then stood up. "Maybe that will give you something to think about, maybe when all this is over you'll chose to do something that won't put you or your brother in harms way."

Roy took in a deep breath and put his hand on my head.

I opened my palm and let out a whimper putting my hand over my mouth to muffle it.

In my palm sat the only family photo I had of both my parents and my brother and me.

I looked up at Roy and he bent down in front of me.

"Don't think I don't know how you feel, I know exactly how you feel" he said softly, "I know what you felt when you killed those people…"

I stared at him wiping my face.

"What?" I asked, "what did I feel?"

"Darkness" Roy said softly, "hate, control, anger, the power to hold that persons life in your hands and to take it away at your own liking" he was describing the feeling I had when I unleashed that maniac inside me.

"So what are you saying?" I asked, "that I shouldn't have done what I did?"

Roy shook his head at me.

"No, thats not what I'm saying, the point I'm getting at is that while you were doing this you heard a voice" Roy didn't look at me as he said this, he looked at the ground but I could still see his own guilt. "This voice that you hear while in that moment, while holding that persons life in your hands sounds like reason and there is reason to it as the most compelling lies are made up of some truth."

Roy looked me straight in the eyes.

"But thats what it does, that dark voice inside your head cloaks it self in whatever convincing disguise to fool you and the more you deny its presences the more powerful it gets and the more likely it is to consume you entirely without you even knowing it was there" Roy said. In his own words he was telling me that I wasn't the only on who had a dark side, he had the exact same dark side as I did.

"If you and I are to work together to get your brother back safely and for both of you to live a happy life, you need to know its presences well so you use it rather than it use you" he was advising me how to control the maniac inside me because he could see I struggling with it, he was watching me trying to move forward from it but I couldn't if I allowed it to keep control of me, it was my turn to accept it and control it.

"Do you fear it?" I asked softly, "having such a thing live inside you?"

Roy nodded.

"Yeah I do but if I can control it so can you" he stood up, "go make sure they don't touch your brother and leave the rest to me, you've done your part just make sure you don't die…"

Roy left it at that and disappeared out the front door.

I looked back at the photo in my hand and tears welled up in my eyes.

"Shit!" I snapped dropping the photo and kicking my foot into the table, "I never meant for any of this to happen" I sobbed to myself. "I didn't mean to screw this up, the only one who was meant to get hurt was me" I took in a deep breath standing up.

I wiped my face and composed myself.

Now I had to make sure Danny got out of this alive, I couldn't care less what happened to me.

* * *

 **Danny's POV**

I was in a room for hours while Victor spoke to me about what my sister had done for him, he might not have been torturing me physically but this was torture in its self. I didn't want to hear what my sister had done for him and he could see that, he took pleasure in it, he was trying to destroy the relationship between us but I was never going to give up on my sister. I was never going to hate her because she was forced by this man to do terrible things, if I hated anyone for it it was the man in front of me.

I hadn't said much to Victor, he did most of the talking and I knew they wouldn't touch me as long as they still wanted the ledger. But there was something Victor had said that had stuck in my mind, in a way I could see apart of Victor adored me sister and yet the other part hated her. She had a certain hold over him but he wasn't the only one, my sister had that hold over everyone but Victor didn't like that, it was his weakness and if he could hurt his own weakness then it wouldn't be his weakness, so he made sure my sister felt pain.

There was one thing he didn't understand, hurt my sister and she will hurt you back, my sister doesn't believe in karma, she provides her own sort of karma. Bad or good, doesn't matter, she will give out what she was given.

"She seems so invincible" Victor said circling me, "but touch her and she will wince, she has secrets and trusts no one. she's the perfect example of betrayal, she will betray anyone no matter who they are to her and she won't even realise it because in reality, she will always be the bad guy no matter how hard she tries to be good" him saying that had confirmed why my sister always thought she was the bad guy. This man had drummed it into her head from the day he met her and now when she tries to do good it always has bad consequences and that always pulls her back down.

"Yet you still love her, even if it means torturing her" this man was insane, the way he enjoyed picking kids off the street and brainwashing them to work for him was the work of a lunatic but every lunatic has someone they love, even if that means torturing that person into submission. But that was the thing, my sister was not an easy target and Victor obviously liked the fights she puts up.

"Very perceptive" Victor chuckled at me, "she's like a drug, loving her is just so much fun" Victor bent down in front of me smiling like a fool. "She is delightfully chaotic, a beautiful mess and around each corner she surprises me with the way she acts, thinks or speaks. You never know what she might say or do and each time she does that its like getting high for the first time."

My sister was a human being, not a drug.

"You're sick" I muttered which only made Victor laugh. He found everything so entertaining from someone being tortured to someone bad mouthing him, everything was a game to him that was going his way but id like to see how he'd react once his game was turning in the wrong direction.

I sighed in relief when Lexie walked into the room.

She didn't look so beaten up this time but she looked exhausted and I doubt she got much sleep within the time she was gone. But she wasn't holding any ledger so that meant she didn't get it, that I was glad even if that meant id endure some pain for it.

Victor also noticed her and dragged her into the corner and argued about what had happened.

I only got parts of it but from what I heard they were going to do the exchange. Exchange me for the ledger but Lexie had no part in it, someone else was going to do it and not even Lexie knew who that was. So this deal was between Victor and Roy, I just hoped whatever plan my uncle had that it worked in our favour because I doubt the Ledger getting into Victor Sinclair's hands was anything but good and I didn't particularly want to die.

"Well since you're useless, you will be there for the exchange and make sure it goes down right unless you want your brother dead" I heard Victor growl down at Lexie.

She stared up at him.

"Fine" she spat back, "I don't care as long as you don't touch my brother then ill do whatever you want."

Victor smiled and turned to Duke.

"Take our two little Mustang's up stairs, we want both of them at their best for the exchange, we can't have anything go wrong" Victor ordered.

Duke nodded grabbing Lexie roughly by the back of the neck and pulled her with him, another guy grabbed me off the chair and we followed Duke and Lexie.

We were both dragged to the second level of the house and shoved into a fancy room.

"Try and escape Alexis and ill shove you back in that room down stairs and smack your brother a few" Duke said pointing at her, "and you know ill enjoy it so behave" he shut the door behind him while I looked around the room. This must have been the room Lexie was living in, it was a mess with clothes everywhere, the bed unmade and it had her smell to it.

A sweet smell like chocolate combined with gun powder, to me that was a comforting and the moment she wrapped her arms around me I was over powered by the smell.

"He didn't touch, right?" Lexie asked pulling away and holding my face, her stunning orange eyes were huge.

I shook my head.

"No" I said softly, "he didn't hurt me, are you okay?" I asked.

Lexie hugged me ignoring my question, I knew she wasn't okay, she was scared and it was all because I didn't do as I was told. I should have stayed out of it.

"Im sorry" I whispered.

She hugged me tighter.

"I don't know why you're sorry" she said holding onto me.

I clutched my big sister digging my head into her neck.

"Because I didn't stay out of it after both you and uncle told me to stay out of it" my voice broke, "I just wanted to prove to you all I'm not weak…"

Lexie squeezed me.

"You don't have to prove anything and you're defiantly not weak, if anyone was weak it was me, I ran away, you didn't so don't ever think you're weak" she pulled back and made me look at her. "Just because you can't beat a few bad guys doesn't mean you're weak, for the entirety of your life you've had to put up with me, so don't ever think you're weak, got it?"

I nodded.

Lexie smiled her crooked smile at me.

"Good now its up to Roy to save us, lets hope he can pull it off" I guess now we had to sit here and wait for Roy's plan to play out. Although there was one thing that was still bothering me, if I was going to be exchanged for the ledger then what was going to happen to my sister?

If they didn't arrest Victor she'd be imprisoned by him until he decided she wasn't worth the hassle anymore and Victor Sinclair looked like the type of guy who didn't give up his most prized possessions without a fight.

The window opened and I spun around to see Riley climbing in.

Both Riley and I froze when we made eye contact.

Riley opened her mouth.

I rushed over to her pulling her through the window clamping my hand over her mouth.

Lexie stood there staring at us, she frowned at Riley some more.

"Shh" I whispered at Riley, "someone is standing outside guarding the door."

She nodded and I took my hand off her mouth.

I stuck my head out the window looking down at the long drop to the ground.

I stared back at her.

"How did you get up here?" I asked.

Riley wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"A magician never reveals their secret" she whispered.

I raised my eyebrows and she sighed.

"Okay okay I climbed up the drain pipe, not the first time I've done it but Victor's men are scoping the perimeter so I had to do it quicker than usual" she sat down on the bed swinging her legs back and forth.

Lexie whacked her head and she staggered off the bed glaring up at her.

"What was that for?!" Riley whispered furiously.

"What part of hide and don't come out until I tell you did you not understand?" She growled at Riley.

Riley stepped away from Lexie and put me between them.

"A lot as happened since then" Riley said then looked Lexie up and down, "they really did a number on you this time."

Lexie crossed her arms but Riley ignored her.

Riley grabbed my arm and wrapped it around her shoulders and smiled up at me.

"Hi Danny" she purred up at me battered her eyelashes at me, I couldn't help but smile.

Lexie cleared her throat but neither Riley or me responded to her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Riley.

She smiled and pointed at me.

"I was looking for you actually, I didn't think it would be this easy to find you" she cuddled up against me.

"Riley" Lexie warned her, "can we not do this in front of me."

Both of us glanced at Lexie and smiled. I didn't mind the attention Riley was giving me.

Lexie waved us off when she realised she could be disgusted all she liked but it wasn't going to stop Riley.

"Whatever" Lexie muttered at us, "just explain why you were looking for my brother" she crossed her arms.

"I was paid a lot of money to come here and tell Danny some type of plan" Riley said shrugging but defiantly had caught our attention, "I so wasn't going to do it but it was those two golden boys who came looking for me after you-" Riley nodded at Lexie "-had done your appearing looking all messed up, then disappear act before anyone could tell the both of you to behave" she was talking about Ed and Al. "And since you trust them so much I thought why not, the money was so worth it" she said with a huge smile.

Lexie sighed.

"Did you scam them out of their money?" She asked.

Riley nodded proudly.

"Did those two learn nothing about haggling when I was with them" Lexie said to herself, "I had done it enough times around them."

Riley moaned.

"I thought you'd be proud of me" Riley whined.

I laughed.

"Not when it comes to those two" I spoke up, "she actually cares about them in her own weird way" I admitted.

Lexie pointed to me.

"Keep it to yourself little brother" she spat at me.

I smiled some more.

"She totally has a thing for the older one" Riley said wiggling her eyebrows at Lexie.

Lexie sat on the bed gritting her teeth at Riley.

"Oh defiantly" I laughed, "anyone who knows my sister can see that" finally I had someone to help me tease my sister. Never in my life have I been able to tease my sister but with Riley by my side, we were a team she couldn't take down by herself.

"Can we get to the point why you are here?" Lexie asked staring at Riley, my sister wasn't the type who liked to talk about her feelings and seeing her slightly embarrassed brightened the mood in here.

"Right right" Riley said and looked back up at me, "I was sent here to tell you not to do anything drastic, there is some sort of plan at work here and if you or Lexie try and make any big moves before the exchange you could ruin the whole thing."

I frowned.

"Thats what Ed and Al said?" I asked.

Riley nodded.

"Yep, I'm only the messenger with a lot of money"

Lexie groaned throwing her hands in the air.

"I already knew that, Roy and I already had our fight over it" she moaned, I wasn't surprised her and uncle had fought but if she was doing what she was told then he obviously got through to her. "Was that all they told you?" Lexie asked Riley.

She nodded.

"Yep" Riley chimed.

Lexie crossed her arms and started grumbling to herself.

"Thats not the whole plan though" she said to herself, "I can't believe they're all keeping me in the dark on this one" I was assuming thats what the fight was about between her and uncle. "Well since you've got nothing else I suggest you leave before Victor gets his hands on you."

Riley nodded.

"Thats probably a good idea" she said stepping away from me, "but you'll get out of this alive right?" she asked Lexie who waved her off.

"Don't worry about me" in other words Lexie had no clue and that scared me slightly, I know Lexie didn't care about her life but I did.

"Well please do because you've been my only family for the past three years and I don't want to lose you"

Lexie smiled at Riley, it was her fake smile but I think Riley was still naive of how Lexie's mind worked.

"Ill be fine Riley now go"

Riley nodded.

"Okay but I've got more thing I wanna do" she turned around wrapping her arms around my neck and kissed me.

I froze not knowing how to react and to make matters worse I had never kissed a girl.

Riley pulled away with smirk on her face.

"That was for saving my life when you got kidnapped" she muttered up to me.

I felt my face heat up when I realised my own sister had just seen witnessed my first kiss.

My eyes darted over to Lexie who was sitting on the bed staring at us, she seemed to be just as shocked as I was.

"I don't know why you're looking at me" Lexie finally said holding her hands up at me, "I'm certainly not going to kiss you."

I looked down at Riley and she shrugged at me.

"She took that way smoother than I thought she would" Riley admitted.

I nodded.

"That was a so un-Lexie reaction" I muttered looking back at Lexie waiting for her to freak but she kept her composure like she was far too exhausted to react.


	38. Chapter 32

_**Chapter thirty-two**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Danny, Duke and I sat at a table in the little cafe down the road from the Central bank, I had no idea why this spot exactly but this is where Roy wanted the exchange to go down. It was late in the afternoon and the cafe was bustling with people, Victor was three tables over watching us. Who ever showed up for the exchange wouldn't know Victor was there but us three and if the person who came to do the exchange didn't have the ledger then we'd all die. Victor knew this could be a trap and coming out of hiding to see the exchange go down was a risk he didn't want to have to do, so he had his own plan.

In the building across from us sat a sniper, aimed at Danny and ready to fire when Duke or Victor gave the signal except that bullet wouldn't just kill Danny it would kill everyone in the cafe. Danny was strapped with explosives and one bullet in the right spot would set them off killing Roy's messenger, any of his men in the vicinity, the innocent people around us and Victor himself. He would rather die than be caught by the military, death was a quicker escape than prison in his eyes.

I glanced at Danny across the table and he sat there wide eyed and terrified, he looked at me and gulped. We both had been on our best behaviour for the plan to happen but that still didn't mean either of us knew what was going to happen.

I leaned on the table closer to Danny while Duke was too busy scanning the people around us.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

Danny clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"Don't ask a stupid question like that" his voice cracked, "how do you think I'm honestly doing?" he was a bit snarky but I didn't blame him, he was strapped with explosives after all. So I had to admit I was slightly nervous and whatever Roy's plan was I hoped he had predicted this and chose the right messenger to do the exchange.

We all waited patiently until someone sat in the free seat beside me.

Danny's eyes widened and so did mine when I saw Ed. This was not the person I was expecting.

Ed reached over the table slowly moving Danny's jacket slightly.

"Carful" I whispered.

He caught sight of the explosives and leaned back.

Duke smiled at Ed.

"The moment it is set off it will kill everyone in a vicinity, he's a walking bomb" Duke said with a grin.

Ed looked between Duke and Danny but didn't say anything.

I felt him put a gun in my lap under the table, no one noticed and I gripped it nervously. I didn't know what he wanted me to do with this but I'm sure he just gave me permission that I was allowed to kill if needed, or at least Roy had.

"How are you doing?" Ed asked Danny.

His eyes darted over to Ed glaring at him.

"Is it stupid question day or something?" Danny asked looking between both me and Ed, "or do you both have some telepathic connection so when one of you is having a stupid day so is the other."

Ed glanced at me.

"He gets snarky when he's on edge" I said softly.

Duke cleared his throat making me and Ed look at him.

"I always knew it was too good to be true when Alexis came crawling back to us but I never thought id meet the person who managed to see the good in her" Duke chuckled.

I gripped the gun staying very still.

Danny stared between me and Ed praying for one of us to make a move but I had no clue what I was supposed to do, I couldn't help him. It was up to Ed.

"So you're the boy who managed to discard the monster she is and see the human being she's actually not" Duke laughed.

Ed smiled.

"Monster?" he asked, "I've seen monsters and trust me, she's far from any monster I've ever seen" Ed growled. "She might be terrifying or strange, even a bit of both…"

I frowned up at Ed, this was not why he was here.

"But she's also beautiful and thats not something everyone knows how to understand or even love" Ed added.

Danny stared at me and I shrugged at him, I had no idea what Ed was doing but I think he was stalling for some reason.

"Thats cute" Duke chuckled, "but I have no care for your-"

"But I guess she terrified you even more when she turned up on your door step all those years ago looking like your sister"

We all froze at Ed's words. I had no idea what he meant by that but he was stirring Duke up somehow.

"And then she grew up looking like your mother, am I right?"

Duke's hands turned into fists.

"Was it you who accidentally killed them or was it your father, Eugene?" Ed asked and smiled, "or as everyone knows him by the name of Victor Sinclair."

I stared at Duke. I couldn't believe I had never put the pieces together.

"Of course" I laughed looking at Duke.

His eyes flickered over to me.

"You're Victor's son, thats why you hated me" I sneered at Duke.

He gritted his teeth.

I wasn't sure what Ed was trying to achieve but if it was the rile up Duke then I was going to help, no one was better at taunting people than me and Ed, we used to do it to Roy for sport.

"Now it makes sense, why you hated it every time I got that much closer to Victor, he's your daddy" I said.

Duke's face was going red with rage.

"And nothings worse than losing your own father's attention to some nobody who has no respect or love for him in the first place" Ed added.

Duke gritted his teeth at us and went to stand up but Victor was up behind him with his hand on his shoulder. Thats when everything clicked, Victor had now shown himself. We had lured him out into the open to stop Duke from blowing the whole operation.

"Enough of your games" Victor said sitting across from us, "you know the deal, now where's the ledger?"

Ed smiled leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

"What do you reckon would be the worst punishment for him would be?" Ed asked looking down at me.

I smiled and stared at Victor from across the table.

"Prison for life, no contact with anyone but to sit in a cell and rot, thinking about all the people he has killed and made suffer" I sneered through gritted teeth.

"Thats the deal you made with the Fuhrer, right?" Ed asked, now we were just having fun. Oh how I had missed this.

"Where is the ledger?" Victor growled at us over the table.

"Yep" I chimed, "if he gets caught I get to decide his fate."

Victor pulled out a gun and prodded it into Danny's side.

The smile on my face was wiped off. We might have taken it a bit too far, Danny looked on the verge of tears.

"I said where is the ledger?" Victor growled once more at us.

I instantly looked up at Ed but he was still smiling.

"You like to play games?" Ed asked grabbing the napkin on the table, he pulled out a pen and started writing on it. "Well I've got a game for you, ill give you one of the many accounts on the ledger if you let Danny go" Ed passed the napkin over to Victor, it had bank account details on it. "I'll even wait for you to go activate it" Ed said nodding over to the bank down the street, "we're in no rush."

Victor stared at the napkin. He looked over to one of his men who was leaning on the wall across the road to come over to us, he crossed the street and Victor stood up handing him the napkin.

"Go activate this account and let me know if it works" Victor ordered the guy in a hushed voice.

The man nodded and we watched him enter the bank. We all waited in silence, each one of us wondering how all this was going to play out.

A few minutes later the guy came out of the bank and nodded at Victor, Ed had given him one of the many money filled accounts on the ledger.

Victor looked back at Ed.

"Where is the ledger?!" Victor snapped.

Ed smiled.

"You're looking at it" Ed sneered, "I am the ledger, I have a sharp memory" so Ed had destroyed the ledger but he had memorised the entire thing. "I memorised every number, five-thousand three hundred and sixty-four of them, if you shoot him" Ed nodded at Danny. "You get nothing and since you've shown yourself, you will be nothing without this money, you will lose your entire empire."

I smiled when I realised the plan.

"Without me, you're are nothing" and just like that the tables had changed, Ed had all the power now.

Ed leaned back in the chair and shrugged.

"Im sure right now you're thinking this is a bluff" Ed said looking around.

I watched him as he spotted each one of Victor's men. They stuck out like a sore thumb unlike Roy's men who I could see scattered everywhere but blended in.

"But if you know who I am then you know id never let my friends die" Victor knew who Ed was. If Victor had found my brother then I'm sure he had figured out more about Ed searching for my weakness, "And you're probably thinking there is no way I could possibly memorise that entire ledger but theres only on way to be sure, let Danny go" Ed growled.

Victor pressed the gun harder against Danny and he squinted in pain. Victor had his finger on the trigger and I knew it was now or never.

We'd either all die or Victor would play the game, he didn't like playing games he couldn't predict but if anyone could push him to play the game it was me.

"Scared of a little competition?" I asked, "scared of him winning?" I asked pointing at Ed. "You should be because if anyone taught him how to play a good game, it was me."

Victor's eyes darted over to me and he barred his teeth at me.

"You should have never betrayed me again" Victor growled taking the gun away from Danny.

Victor looked at Ed.

"Duke grab him"

Ed wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer.

"If anyone takes a step closer to me, shoot me" Ed said me.

I pressed the gun he had given me into he waist and Duke froze.

"I always knew you two would take things too far one day" Danny said in a shaky voice to us, "and killing Father wasn't enough for you two…"

We both couldn't help but grin. Ed knew I wasn't going to be able to shoot him but Victor didn't know that, no one but Ed knew that.

"Now if you want this money, I suggest you let Danny walk away right now with no complications" I had to believe in Ed that he wasn't sacrificing himself for my brother and that there was another plan at foot here but I had no way of knowing, just like the promise day. Id just had to go with the flow.

"Fine" Victor growled shoving Danny.

Danny staggered out of his chair and turned around to stare at me.

I nodded and he turned away and walked off.

I recognised Hawkeye walk out of one of the alleys grabbing him by the arm and pulling him down the road.

I felt relieved but Victor still had me and Ed.

Victor stood up and held his hand up and pointed at me.

"Kill Alexis but I need him alive" Victor told Duke.

Ed and I froze as Victor walked off.

Duke smiled at me from across the table and Victor's men who were linger on the street started walking towards us, I'm not sure if this was apart of the plan.

"Ive been waiting for those words to come out of his mouth for years" Duke growled at me from over the table.

I looked up at Ed.

"So since you gave me this gun, I'm allowed to kill them?" I asked.

Ed glanced down at me.

"Im going to pretend I didn't hear that and whoever you do shoot I'm going to think that you just injured them, not killed" so that was his way of saying yes because well we didn't have a choice if we wanted me alive but he also didn't agree.

I smiled.

"Now this is going to be like old times" I said to Ed looking back at Duke.

Duke aimed his gun at me.

"Indeed it will" we both flipped the table making Duke fire in the air and stumble back off his chair, the whole cafe turned into chaos as Victor's men raced towards us.


	39. Chapter 33

_**Chapter thirty-three**_

 **Lexie's POV**

I had no sympathy for the men who worked for Victor so killing them was no problem but I knew in a way Ed wouldn't agree, so if I shoot to kill then there better be a good reason or id be giving Ed a reason to be disappointed in me.

I held out my gun and turned to the first guy coming towards us, I pulled the trigger and the bullet went into his shoulder. I aimed for his knee and fired again making him collapse to the ground.

Ed grabbed me pulling me backwards and a bullet missed my head by inches.

I spun around firing and got the guy in the neck.

I cringed.

"Alexis!" Ed snapped at me.

I stared at him.

"Oh come on" I moaned at him.

I grabbed Ed's arm pulling him with me.

"Look, I know you don't like it but guns are used for killing and you gave me the damn thing" it was either us or these guys who were going to die and id rather it be them than us.

"I gave it to you to protect yourself-ah shit!" He snapped ducking out the way.

Ed tapped my shoulder and I spun around firing at the guy who had shot at Ed. One bullet in the arm and the other in his knee making him twist and collapse to the ground.

"So whats the plan?" I asked as we managed to get out on the street, Roy's men who were also scattered around defusing the situation but that didn't mean we were still safe. Victor would have every man out looking for us two wanting me dead and Ed alive.

"We lure Victor back out here, make him come after us but the thing is I have no idea how to lure him back out, he wasn't supposed to slip away in the chaos" so things hadn't quite gone to plan and now we needed to improvise.

"If none of his men can catch you then he will do it himself" I looked around looking for Duke but he disappeared as well, we needed to keep moving or one of Victor's men would get to us.

"Okay, so we get rid of every man he throws our way"

i glanced at Ed.

"Then what do we do when we've lured him back out?" I asked.

"We lead him straight to Mustang" so Roy was out here somewhere waiting for us, "you know Central's streets better than me" Ed said.

We both backed up when three of Victor's men spotted us.

"you lead the way"

I spun around grabbing his arm and headed for the back streets. We skidded around the corner running through the allies.

"So how did you figure out Victor's real name and Duke was his son?" I asked, this probably wasn't the time to ask but I had to know.

"Well me and Al ran into your little mini me again, I have to admit she's feisty"

We skidded to a stop when two men further down the alley pulled out guns.

I pulled Ed into the alley on our right going out onto one of the main streets.

"Did you say something about her mismatched eyes?" I asked.

We came out onto the street looking up and down.

"Maybe" Ed muttered.

I sighed.

"So she attacked you" it hadn't been easy for her growing up with mismatched eyes, she'd get all sorts of names like half blood scum.

"Pretty much but she fights like you and I managed to calm her down-ah!"

We both ducked when someone from across the road had shot at us.

I stood up straight spotting the figure with a gun in his hand standing in the alley across from us.

I aimed, fired and he hit the ground howling in pain and clutching his side.

"You mean Al calmed her down?" I asked as Ed stood up straight. The streets had grown eerily quiet, even the main streets.

We ran past the guy on the ground and deeper into the darker alley's of Central.

"Maybe…"

I looked up at Ed.

"Okay yes Al managed to get her to calm down anyway" he continued, "we asked her a few questions about Victor and she said that she only knew about his daughter and wife died in a fire" it was getting dark now so maybe Victor will come out of hiding soon.

"So we went to the library and looked through some old articles and sure enough she spotted him in one of the article photos, turns out his wife had cheated on him and his daughter wasn't his, he set the house on fire and trapped them inside letting only him and his son survive, he was found guilty but disappeared before ever serving his sentence."

We came out onto another street that was entirely deserted.

I looked out onto the main street thinking of which way we should go.

"So how did you figure out Duke was his son?" I asked looking up at Ed.

Ed smiled so triumphed with himself about his detective skills.

"There was a picture in the newspaper of the wife and she had a necklace with a watch on it and I recognised it around Duke's neck" of course he'd be able to figure it out.

"So did she look like me?" I asked, that was the reason why Victor took a liking to me.

Ed nodded.

"In a way yeah but she looked more" he paused to think of a word, "pure-ouch!" Ed snapped at me when I kicked him in the shin.

"And I'm not pure?!" I snapped back slightly offended.

Ed laughed at me.

"Did you seriously just ask that?" He was still laughing at me. "You pure!" He was finding this way too funny, "yeah all right you can think you're pure if you want Lex" he said patting me on the head.

"I am pure in my own way" I muttered whacking his hand away from my head, "and just because you've gotten bigger over these past years doesn't mean you can look down at me!" I snapped pointing up at him, "Im still older than you Ed."

Ed crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"It's not my fault I grew taller and have to look down to even see you" he glanced at me from the corner of his eye to catch me reaction making him smirk.

I walked away from him.

"Well if you're man enough now you can grow yourself a beard and you'll look like your father" I spat at him and turned around walking backwards, "or the other Father, which ever you prefer."

I laughed when his face dropped.

"I do not look like either of them!" Ed snapped coming after me.

"Well you kinda do, you are your fathers child and Father took on the appearance of your father" I don't think I had used father in one sentence so much in my life.

"Now you're being mean" Ed moaned at me.

I turned back around shrugging.

"Im being honest Ed, you're tall now and you've got the long hair and still a terrible sense of fashion-"

"Like you're one to talk!" he snapped, "at least my clothes don't have holes in them-"

Ed stopped mid sentence when he saw my face drop.

The two men we had ditched earlier in the allies had caught up pointing their guns at us.

Ed turned around slowly staring at them.

"These guys seriously don't give up" Ed muttered under his breath when I pointed my gun at them, they had the advantage at the moment. There was two of them with guns and one of us with a gun, they had a better chance at killing me then me killing both of them.

"Run Ed" I muttered up at him. It was him they wanted, he had the information that Victor so desperately needed.

"Lexie" Ed growled, "don't be fucking stupid, you know damn well I'm not going to run away" sometimes I wish he'd just do the smart thing but he was too damn stubborn.

"They want you" I growled back at him, we continued to stare at the men as they stared back waiting for one of us to strike first.

"And they want to kill you" he had a point making me sigh, "exactly so shut up" he added with a grumble.

I placed my finger on the trigger and one of the guys fired before I did, I felt it hit my ribs making me gasp. I hit the ground trying the catch my breath back.

Al appeared behind us clapping his hands and putting them to the wall, the wall collapsed on top of the two guys in front of us knocking them out.

"You okay?" Ed asked grabbing my arm and helping me to my feet.

I looked down picking the bullet out of my jacket, it might be tacky but it stopped bullets going into my important body parts for example my stomach. Ed could make fun of it all he liked but nothing else was going to save my life more than this jacket.

"Thats going to leave a decent bruise" I gasped to myself.

I turned to Al.

"Thanks" I muttered rubbing my ribs.

Al smiled at us.

"Mustang is waiting for you guys" Al said.

Ed looked at the two guys groaning and staggering to their feet.

"Don't worry about them brother, I can handle them" Al reassured him before he had a chance to say something.

We stepped out of the alley leaving Al with the other two but came to abrupt stop when a car stopped directly in front of us. One of the guys stepped out of the car pointing his gun at us, I leaped at him slamming my body up against the car door and it slammed into the guy slamming into his head. He dropped to the ground unconscious.

I stared at the driver, I saw him reach down into the car and I leaped out the way. He pulled out his gun but he was too slow, I leaped up onto the bonnet sliding over it and pulling the trigger. The bullet went straight through the windshield and into the guys head. I fell off the other side of the bonnet and nearly hit the ground but Ed grabbed me.

"In the head!" He snapped, "come on Alexis, have some compassion!"

Ed pulled me to my feet and I frowned up at him.

"I just slid over that car like a badass and you're worried about the guy I just killed?" I asked in astonishment, pedestrians were backing away from the scene. "Okay it does sound really bad when you say it out loud" I muttered, "but thats the least of our worries" I said pulling him down the street.

"I cannot believe you sometimes!" Ed exclaimed.

I sighed looking over my shoulder.

A car was heading our way and the gun pointed out the window was not inviting.

"Not now Ed" I moaned, "can we do this after?"

I pushed him into the ally as we got shot at, we both nearly stumbled to the ground but found our footing.

"Fine but I'm so not impressed with you" he turned right and I went left hiding behind the wall.

I pointed at him.

"Not the time to get shitty at me" I whispered at Ed.

I heard the car stop and I poked my head around the corner. Two men got out and started heading down the alley very slowly and cautiously.

'How many?' Ed mouthed at me.

I held up two fingers.

Ed nodded.

We both stayed still and waited until the two men appeared.

We both jumped at them knocking the guns out of their hands. I kicked the guy in the back of the knees and he stumbled to the ground, I put my hands on his head and went to snap his neck but Ed shoved me. He slammed his foot into the guys head and he dropped to the ground following his partner very quickly.

I staggered away and went straight into the wall.

"Alexis!" Ed snapped.

I looked up at him.

"Edward!"

He threw his hands in the air.

"Alexis!" okay we were not going to get anywhere telling each other our names.

"Look we're both two sides of the same coin, same goal, different ways of getting to it"

Ed pointed at me.

"That doesn't give you the right to kill someone" he was right but when someone was trying to kill me, my first instinct is to kill them first. Its kind of what I've been trained to do.

"Yes you're right and I'm sorry" we didn't have time to fight right now.

Ed dropped his fist atop of my head.

"Ouch!" I snapped rubbing my head furiously.

"Only say sorry when you mean it" Ed growled at me, "not when you want me to shut up."

I glared up at him.

"Fine" I muttered up to him.

"Im not sure the Fuhrer would be impressed with all the bodies you've left lying around" I heard Victor say getting out of the car.

Ed and I looked further down the alley staring at him.

Victor had a gun in his hand and pointed it towards me.

Ed stepped in front of me and Victor faltered slightly.

"You know I admire the relationship you two have between each other but you do know she used you all those years ago Fullmetal" Victor said walking towards us.

Ed clenched his fists.

"Thats not my name" Ed spoke up, "and you know nothing of what happened between us so don't think you do" Ed backed up making me back up with him.

"I see why she kept you hidden from me" Victor laughed, "she always liked the smart ones, the ones who could outwit her."

Ed held three fingers up behind his back at me.

"Oh and they had to be good, she always liked good boys, I never understood why" Victor continued.

Ed put one finger down.

He was counting down and his other hand pointed to the left, on one we'd run left.

"Maybe she thought a good boy could help her get rid of her sins…"

I gritted my teeth and tried to push around Ed getting at Victor but he put the last finger down and practically threw me to his left.

"Ignore him!" Ed snapped pushing me down the alley, "we have him out now we've just got to make sure he follows us" Ed added grabbing my arm and making me run faster.

Victor was stirring me up trying to get a reaction so I had to listen to Ed.

"This way"

Ed pulled me left again.

"Where do we have to go?" I asked.

Ed pointed to the main street.

"Mustang and his men should be on the street right in front of us…"

We both stepped out onto the street and stopped looking up and down, sure enough the street was spotted with Roy's men and him as well.

"You two can't run forever" Victor laughed.

Roy was just out of sight from Victor.

Ed backed away but I didn't, I turned around facing Victor waiting for his reaction when he realised he was surrounded and he couldn't get away.

Victor smiled walking down the alley with the gun still pointed at me.

"Given up already?" Victor asked with a smile.

He stepped out on the street and the guns were aimed at him.

"Not quite" I smiled at him.

"Victor Sinclair" Roy spoke up stepping out of the shadows, id never seen Victor so pale in my life. "You're under arrest now I suggest you put your gun down slowly."

Victor bent down putting his gun down and stood back up with his hands up in the air.

I smiled enjoying every moment. I had waited so long for this moment.

"You betraying little bitch" Victor snarled staring at me.

He stepped forward leaning over me but still kept is hands up.

"I looked after you when no one else wanted you, when they threw you in prison and made you a wanted criminal!"

I stepped closer dropping my own gun.

"It hurts, I know" I said smiling up at him.

I leaned up on my toes clenching my fist.

"But with a name like Eugene, how could it not?" I taunted.

Victor gritted his teeth and I slammed my fist in to his jaw.

Victor gasped stumbling away from me.

Roy put his hand on my shoulder.

"Thats enough, you've done your part" Roy said squeezing my shoulder.

I backed away from Victor before I hit him again while he was handcuffed.

"She's just as bad as me!" Victor shouted struggling, "I can name every man she's ever killed, every man she's ever torture-"

Roy slammed his foot into Victor's shin and he fell to his knees.

"Shut up!" Roy snapped, "no one wants to hear it!"

My hands started to shake.

I honestly couldn't believe it was done, I never had to worry about Victor Sinclair anymore. The man who had ruined my life was now never going to be in it again. I felt sick but in a good way, the person I had feared most was never going to be able to touch me again, threaten me again and I could finally take a step out of that world I had been trapped in for years.

I kept backing away until I wasn't surrounded by anyone, I couldn't describe the relief I felt but I needed to be anywhere but here to calm down. It was like the feeling of coming out of a nightmare, you were still shaken up but glad to be back in reality.

Danny came up beside me and smiled.

"No more" he said smiling up at him, "you can come home now."

I took another step back and I ran into someone.

Danny's eyes widened and the person behind me reached around putting their gun to my neck.

"Did you forget about me?" Duke whispered in my ear.

My eyes widened and I gulped.

"Because I'm still here Alexis and if you don't come with me…"

Duke held another gun in his hand and pointed it Danny.

"then both of you will be bitting my bullets before anyone can get to me first"

I stared down the road and Victor was smiling at us. I shouldn't have let my guard down, this wasn't over yet.


	40. Chapter 34

_**Chapter thirty-four**_

 **Lexie's POV**

Duke had me in the perfect spot, I was in the way if anyone tried to shoot him down and before anyone could reach him with or without alchemy both me and Danny would be dead.

Victor started laughing which made everyone turn around to look at what he was laughing at.

Everyone froze when they spotted Duke with his gun against my neck and his other one pointed at Danny's head.

"Do you honestly think that is smart?" Roy asked crossing his arms, "you are out numbered and outmatched."

Duke pushed the gun harder against me making me gulp slightly.

"Doesn't matter, both will be dead before anyone reaches me" Duke spoke up, "I don't care if I die but I'm sure as hell not dying alone" he was right and it was my fault for letting my guard down.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You" Duke growled.

I saw Al out of the corner of my eye but I held my hand up making him stop.

Duke was my problem and I wanted to deal with him, any sudden movements would set him off so I knew if anyone could defuse this situation without any causalities, it was me.

"Come with me and no one gets hurt, well besides from you" he chuckled in my ear, "let me take her and no one will get hurt!" Duke called out.

Roy looked at me.

He was letting me make the decision, risk the fight or go with him. If it was just me id risk the fight but it was Danny as well, we had just gone through all that trouble to save him, I wasn't about to waste that.

I nodded slightly at Roy.

Roy clenched his fists.

"Fine" Roy spat, "take her."

Ed stepped forward.

"Wait-"

"Shut up" Roy snapped at him, "you are not in charge, I am."

Duke put his finger on the trigger pointing the gun steadily at Danny.

"Now I suggest you come up with an idea to get us out of here" Duke growled at me, "unless you really want him dead."

I glanced at him over my shoulder.

"You don't even have a plan?" I asked.

Duke pushed the gun up against my windpipe making me gasp.

"Get us out of here without any complications and I promise your brother doesn't die" Duke growled at me.

I looked down and spotted the man hole below us.

"The sewers" I muttered, "if we take the sewers they'll have a hard time finding us or even tracking us down" he shouldn't have let me decide because the moment Danny wasn't a target then I was going to put up a fight.

"Good choice" Duke whispered in my ear, "now I suggest you get us down there" Duke released the gun from my neck letting me bend down. Duke kept his gun on Danny and the other pointed at me as I used all my strength to open the man hole, I shoved it to the side on the ground.

Duke kicked me.

"You first" he growled.

I glanced at Roy and smiled.

I held up both of my hands.

'Give me ten minutes' I mouthed.

Roy nodded and I jumped down into the sewer.

Duke followed and kicked his foot out kicking me in the back.

"Keep moving before I decide to torture you right here and right now" he snarled at me, he was angry so he wasn't thinking straight.

I staggered forward leading the way.

"And don't try and fight me, you know you can't take me" he was right but that didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

Once we were further down the sewers and it was dark, I spun around knocking the gun out of his hand. It slid across the ground and he stared at me.

Duke lashed out smacking me across the face.

I stumbled back and hit the ground.

Duke stood over me.

"Are you honestly going to try?" Duke asked laughing, "try and fight the man who taught you how to fight?"

I glanced over my shoulder and the shadows were moving.

"You can't beat me and you know it"

I sat up wiping the blood that ran down my chin with a smile.

I smiled up at Duke.

"You're right, I can't beat you but I sure as hell can out wit you" I chuckled.

Duke froze and stared down at me, he kicked his foot out getting me in the face.

I gasped sliding across the ground clutching my nose.

Duke laughed.

"Oh yeah?" Duke asked, "and how have you managed that?"

I staggered to my feet wiping my bleeding nose.

"You're exactly where I want you to be" I told him.

Duke's eyes looked past me and he froze.

i smiled.

"Im sorry guys" I called out, "I haven't been around to feed you but today I've brought you a live one and I'm sure you'll enjoy the fight."

I glanced over my shoulder and a dozen pair of eyes opened behind me.

"What-what are they?" Duke stammered slightly.

I smiled holding my hands out.

"You know Victor should have tried harder keeping an eye on me, I have friends everywhere including down here" I laughed.

Duke took a step back.

"But these guys are a little different and you can't beat them, these guys are chimera's" I sneered with a wicked grin.

I crossed my arms as they all stepped past me.

"Eat!" I shouted.

The chimera's rushed past me and leaped at Duke.

He let out a howling scream as their teeth teared into him.

I walked closer making sure I was the last person Duke saw.

"I found these guys a few weeks ago starving down here so I decided id feed them and one thing I learnt about animals, they never bite the hand that feeds them. Doesn't matter if they were created by alchemy, they're still animals" I said standing over Duke.

Duke howled again as they ripped him apart.

I placed my hand on the mane of a lion that had a scales of a lizard. It didn't even seemed bothered by me.

"those times I disappeared, I was down here training them knowing they'd come in handy one day"

I lifted my hand off the chimera and grabbed the necklace off around Duke's neck.

"I hope you enjoy hell" I said walking around Duke.

Duke watched with glazed over eyes. He was practically dead and finally not my problem, the chimera's could eat every last bit of him.

I climbed back out the man hole.

"How long was that?" I asked.

"Eleven minutes" Roy spoke up, "longer than you predicted."

I frowned.

"That was so not eleven minutes, that seven at max"I said clutching Duke's necklace.

I stood up pointing at Roy.

"Stop exaggerating" I told Roy.

Everyone was staring at me, the blood all over me was probably the reason but I didn't kill Duke.

Victor was quiet staring at me with his hands cuffed behind his back.

I walked up to him and put the necklace around his neck.

"Now you have nobody, you're all alone" I whispered.

Victor looked down at the necklace and his eyes widened.

I glanced at Roy.

"You have a chimera problem down there" I said pointing down, "you might want to fix that because they just got the taste of human flesh and I really doubt you want them up here" I told him.

Roy raised his eyebrows.

"Im assuming you've know that for a while now"

I shrugged.

"I knew I was feeding them for a reason" I said smiling, "I just hadn't known the reason till now."

I stepped away from Victor, he tried to leap at me but the soldiers held him back.

"You ungrateful whore!" Victor spat.

I raised my eyebrows.

"So you've lowered yourself to name calling?" I asked, "so unlike you" I sneered. I could see the rage in his eyes, he was so angry that he had let me take him down. A girl who was once nothing but a trophy to him.

"I trusted you!" He screamed.

i shrugged.

"That was your fault not mine" I said walking back towards him.

"Alexis" Roy warned me but I held my hand up, I wasn't going to hurt him. Only taunt him with my words.

"How could you betray me like this?" Victor growled.

He leaned down putting his forehead against mine.

I was no longer scared of him.

"I loved you more than my own son" he whispered.

I stared into his blue eyes.

"No you lusted after me, you controlled yourself most of the time" I whispered back.

I wrapped my hand around his neck pushing his head off mine and put my lips to his ear.

"You ruined me so it was only fair I returned the favour" I said into his ear. I had always wanted to taunt Victor and now was my last chance, "that boy you got killed, his name was Charles and his last words was to not kill you but to destroy you and make you nothing but an old man and now thats all you are. Your empire is now nothing, you've got no one but your thoughts for the rest of your miserable life" I snarled.

Roy pulled me back.

"I'll get out one day!" Victor shouted at me.

Roy tightened his grip on my arm pulling me further away. I had to use all my strength not to kill him, what I would give to be the last person Victor ever saw but death was an escape.

"And you'll be the first person to know about!" Victor screamed.

Roy pushed me away.

"I suggest you leave now before he riles you up and you lose control of yourself" Roy growled at me.

I clenched my fists biting down on my words I wanted to throw at Victor. But I couldn't let Victor get the satisfaction of making me angry, thats what he wanted so I turned away.

"Don't you walk away from me!" Victor shouted, "I'm the only one who praised that psychopath inside you, she's still there and you can't hide her forever!"

"Would someone shut him up!" Roy snapped, Victor was the reason for that psychopath inside me and with him gone so would the crazy girl who was bouncing inside my head.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders as I stared down at my shaking hands.

"You finally did it" Ed said grabbing my hand making it stop shaking.

I leant against him and sighed.

"Yeah finally" I muttered.

"So did you kill him?" Ed asked.

I stared up at him.

"If you're referring to Duke then no"

Ed glanced down at me and frowned.

"Well the blood doesn't help your case" I looked down at my bloody clothes, "it is his, right?"

"Yes but I didn't kill him" I said sighing at Ed, "you need to trust me."

Ed laughed mockingly.

"Right because you didn't kill two other guys tonight"

I rolled my eyes.

"That was so half an hour ago-"

Ed grabbed my ear and pulled on it making my squint.

"Hey!" I protested reaching up and pulling on his ear.

He squinted.

"If you must know Central has a chimera problem in the sewers and they found Duke very tasty"

Ed let go of my ear and cringed.

"Why didn't they eat you?" he asked.

"They're animals, they don't bite the hand that feeds them" I told him.

Ed raised his eyebrows at me.

"You've been feeding them" Ed muttered shaking his head, "I'm surprised when I shouldn't be, only you'd do something crazy like that…"

I smiled up at him. Well he wasn't wrong.

"I had to hide the bodies somehow" I added with a smirk.

Ed stopped dead in his tracks staring at me.

"Alexis-"

"I was kidding" I said quickly holding my hands up, "but it wasn't a bad idea."

He pointed at me.

"Thinking like that is going to get you into a lot of trouble" he snapped at me.

I shrugged.

"Actually if you think about it I wouldn't because if the proof of the murder gets eaten then theres no proof"

Ed threw his hands in the air.

"Hug time!" Al exclaimed.

Both Ed and I froze when Al wrapped his arms around us.

"No Al this is not the time!" Ed snapped in frustration, "I'm trying to talk to Alexis" but Al ignored him.

"More like get shitty at me" I corrected.

Ed glared down at me.

"Don't test me when we have to be this close to each other" Ed growled at me, "do I have to be apart of this Al?" Ed asked.

We both gasped when Al squeezed us pushing us all together, I felt like I was going to be imprinted into Ed's side.

"If I've got to endure your brothers hug times so do you" I muttered against him.

Danny squirmed his way into it.

"I love hug time!" Danny chimed.

"This isn't what I had in mind when Victor finally got arrested" I grumbled, "and Al you're underestimating your strength, please let go before you break me" I gasped.

Al finally released us and I rubbed my rib cage, he might not be a suit of armour anymore but his hugs still hurt.

"So you're free now!" Danny exclaimed.

I shook my head backing away.

"Not quite, I have to see the Fuhrer first" I admitted, "I'm still a wanted criminal" I added with a whisper.

I pointed to the soldiers around us,

"So I should go before they notice and someone decides to arrest me" I had made enough of a scene here for one night. Now it was time to go see Grumman to see if he'd keep his end of the bargain.


	41. Chapter 35

_**Chapter thirty-five**_

 **Lexie's POV**

So it took a few days until I managed to see the Fuhrer and until then I hid out at home fuming over the fact Roy had turned my room in to a study, we were still arguing about the fact that I could share with Danny but that was not going to happen. Roy either had to move out of that god damn stingy apartment and upgrade to an actual house or give up his study, I had every right to my room back even if I hardly spent time in it.

While that fight was going on I had convinced Danny to sleep on the couch while I took his bed, he was far too happy to have me alive to say no. So Roy and I had a compromise until Danny got fed up sleeping on the couch.

I slammed my freedom papers on the desk making Ed and Al jump, Riley and Danny were to busy fussing over each other to even notice me.

"I am officially a free man" I said nodding at them then paused, "or woman" I added frowning.

"Human works as well" Al responded.

I pointed at him.

"Yes it does" I said sitting down.

I shuddered at the sight of my brother and Riley.

"Look what you two do in your spare time is totally up to you but don't be like that in front of me" I said pointing at them across the table. It was bad enough I had already witness Riley kiss my brother but I didn't want to see what else that would lead to.

"Oh come on Lexie" Al said speaking up in their defence, "I once remember you had a young romance."

I pointed at Al.

"Don't take their side" I growled at him.

He smiled looking back down at his book.

Riley had taken a liking to my brother the moment she set eyes on him and she had also grown on him over the past couple of days especially since them kissing, that didn't mean I was okay with this. I saw how me and Jack ended and it ended in pain and heart break but I wasn't going to stop them I just didn't want to see it.

"Im sixteen Alexis" Danny sighed at me, "I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

I pointed back at him.

"I don't care how old you are" I said sternly, "I'm your older sister and what I say goes."

Riley crossed her arms at me.

"You're being a bitch" Riley said.

My eyes darted to her while she still sat on his lap.

"No this is me being responsible-"

Ed burst out laughing interrupting me.

I gritted my teeth staring at him.

"Im sorry" Ed laughed waving me off, "did you just say you were being responsible?"

I glared at him while he wiped away tears of laughter.

"Is that funny to you?" I asked him.

Ed leaned back in his chair still smiling.

"You're not being responsible, you're being over protective and controlling" Ed told me.

My mouth dropped open, okay so maybe I was a bit but I couldn't help it.

"She's being mean" Danny spoke up.

Ed waved him off.

"Don't worry about her, ill talk to her"

I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows at Ed.

"Oh will you now?" I asked.

Ed turned to me and pointed at me.

"Stop being mean, let them have their fun" Ed pointed out, "you were a kid once so don't make me bring up all the stuff I remember very clearly you used to do" he warned.

I leaned back in my chair crossing my arms.

"Fine" I muttered at him.

Ed smiled and got back to his book. He knew things I didn't particularly wanting Danny to know so he did have that over me.

"It never ceases to amaze me how you mange to control her like that" Danny spoke up, "if anyone else said that to her she would have bit their head off."

I saw Ed smile out of the corner of my eye.

"Thats because-"

"Can we please discuss the fact that I'm free now" I said speaking over Ed picking up the papers.

I whacked them against Ed's head making sure he stayed quiet and to himself. He knew exactly what he had to over me but that didn't mean anyone else needed to know.

"Haven't changed, you still avoid it" Ed laughed to himself pushing the papers away from his head.

I pointed at him and leaned over to him.

"Don't make me hurt you" I muttered to him under my breath.

Ed smirked at me.

"The things I have said to you stays between us and no one else" I added.

Ed shrugged.

"Then leave them alone" he muttered back, "you were way worse and you know it" I didn't like the fact that he was right. Three years later and he could still pull one over on me and even in front of my own brother, that was just hurting my pride majorly.

"So what are you going to do now?" Al asked.

I shrugged.

"I didn't think id get this far" I said honestly, I had accepted the fact that taking Victor down would end up with me dead but I guess if Ed hadn't have stepped in it would have been true. I didn't like the fact he was still willing to risk his own life for mine and was still the hero, that pissed me off because that just made me like him even more and he wasn't stupid, he knew that.

"Optimistic" Ed muttered leaning his head on his fist.

I grabbed his elbow pulling it out from under his head and he nearly head butted the table.

"Well I think you need to come to Xing with me" Al said looking up from his book diffusing both of us.

Ed stared at him.

"Hold on if she's leaving with anyone its me, we were a better team" Ed argued.

I looked between them.

"Yes please someone take her" Danny sighed in relief, "then ill get my bed back!"

Riley held up her finger.

"And she'll leave us alone" she added.

My mouth dropped open.

"Hold on" I said waving my arms around, "don't I get a choice…"

Everyone looked at me.

"No" they all said together then continued to argue over me.

I sat there staring at them all. I don't think id ever been so popular in my life.

"You can have her afterwards" Al said still arguing with Ed about who got me first, I hadn't even agreed to go anywhere with them yet, "but I think she needs to come to Xing first."

Ed and I stared at Al.

"Why?" We both asked.

"Well I think you need to apologise to Ling for shooting him in the shoulder" Al insisted.

I frowned at Al.

"Apologise for saving his life?" I asked in astonishment.

"You shot him Lexie" Ed said turning to me.

I threw my hands in the air.

"I was saving his life!" I exclaimed, "so you want me to go to Xing and be like 'I'm sorry for saving your life Xing boy!' If I hadn't had done that he'd have two bullets in his chest!"

"I think you'd get in trouble for calling him that" Al said rubbing his head, "he is the Emperor after all Lexie…"

I stared at Al.

"I don't care who he is now, he's still that Xing brat we ran into in Rush Valley" I pointed out.

"He's not that bad now" Ed added.

I turned to Ed.

"Ill believe that when I see it, I'm sure all that Emperor power has gone to his head and how many wives does he have?" I asked.

Ed shrugged.

"Exactly" I said pointing at Ed.

"I still think you should at least come to Xing and say sorry" Al added.

"Then you can come to Creta, I have some interesting information you might fine intriguing" okay that caught my attention.

"Crossing the hot desert because you want me to say sorry to the guy I shot trying to save his life, I don't think so" I muttered under my breath then turned to Ed. "You've got my attention" I said to him.

Ed leaned back crossing his arms.

"I came across someone with orange eyes in Creta who was from further West, I don't know whats out there but I thought it might interest you" now that was very interesting to me. I had never known anyone with orange eyes other than my father, I had never known if my father was from here or not but that could give me answers. "But first I think you should go to Xing to explain why you shot Ling, I think he'd love to know why you did it" Ed added.

That made me frown.

"Thats in the total opposite direction Ed" I complained, "crossing that desert" I sighed.

"Do you not read the paper?" Ed asked.

I stared at him.

"She can't even read" Danny muttered.

I glared at him.

"I can so!" I snapped at him, "just not as good as most people but thats besides the point!"

I looked at Ed.

"No I haven't read the paper because I've been a bit busy lately" I pointed out.

"They fixed the tracks, took them two years but you can now get from Amestris to Xing via train" Al explained, well that was easier.

"Okay so no desert crossing" that was a plus, "but its still in the complete opposite direction of Creta" I moaned.

"Is my sister backing down from an adventure?" Danny asked from across the table.

Riley sat there smiling.

I pointed both of them.

"Your input is not required" I growled at them, "anyway I can't leave the country for another three months" I muttered.

They all stared at me.

"There was one condition on my freedom that Roy managed to add" I was so angry he had done this to me.

"And that is?" Ed asked.

"A behavioural program" I muttered angrily.

Everyone frowned.

"Because of my recent adventure Roy wants to make sure I'm not insane before I'm allowed to leave the country, so I've got to spend three months on my best behaviour otherwise I'm in a lot of trouble" I admitted.

"Thats not too long" Al chimed.

We all looked at him.

"This is Alexis we're talking about" Ed spoke up.

"Hey I'm not that bad" I protested but Ed ignored me.

"First week of prison and she was out doing god knows what, she won't be able to last three months without causing some type of trouble."

I gritted my teeth and punched Ed.

He frowned at me rubbing his arm.

"Im being honest" he said glaring at me.

"Three more months stuck with you" Riley and Danny groaned, I couldn't win with any of them.

I crossed my arms leaning back in my chair, I thought everyone would be a little happy for me. Not Danny and Riley trying to get rid of me because I didn't like them all over each other in front of me and Ed and Al deciding my fate after my three months imprisoned in Amestris. Not the celebration I expected.

"I guess ill have to stay for another three months to babysit you" Ed muttered looking back down at his book.

I kicked his knee and he jumped.

"I don't need a baby sitter!" I snapped pointing at him.

"Actually I think thats his way of saying he missed you and is happy to stay here for three months keeping you out of trouble" Al added with a giggle looking down dodging Ed's glared.

"Alphonse!" Ed snapped, "thats not what I meant!" his face went bright red.

"Don't worry I think she missed you as well" Riley spoke up.

I stared at her.

"You weren't asked to say anything" I said pointing at her.

Riley smile looking away from me.

"Good its settled then" Al chimed before a fight broke out between someone, "you guys will stay here and behave for three months then you can come to Xing for a few weeks then go to Creta and do whatever it is you two want to do" Al said happily.

I sighed in defeat.

I don't think I was getting a choice in this but I defiantly wanted to go find out what was West of Creta and where these people with orange eyes lived. Maybe they could answer a few questions I've always wondered.

"So what are we going to do for three months?" I asked Ed.

He thought about it.

"I don't know but it has to be something interesting" he muttered still thinking, an idea hit me.

"Maybe we could jump borders" I said with a grin.

Ed's face lit up.

"Yeah we know that guy who helped smuggle us out into the desert" Ed pointed out.

We both grinned.

"Guys" Al moaned, "the plan is to behave for three months, not do the complete opposite."

We both frowned slumping back in our chairs.

"Guess we're in for a boring three months" I muttered.

"Tell me about it" Ed also muttered.

"Oh I'm sure you two will find something to do, just make sure it doesn't get you two in trouble" Al said pointing at us.

"Lets go back to the snow!" Danny chimed.

Ed and I pointed at him.

"Not happening!" We both snapped, the snow was somewhere we were both going to avoid unless we wanted to try and die or maybe hang off a couple of cliffs.

But there was still that offer Grumman had given me, it was so tempting to take but I had to think it through and he had caused me enough trouble as it is. The offer would give me power and money and a job to support myself but it no doubt came with a lot of consequences, I needed to discuss this with someone who wasn't going to bite my head off for even thinking about it.

I nudged Ed's foot with mine and he glanced at me.

I gestured to him to follow me but he managed to get an armful of books into my arms.

"You can help me put these away" he said with a smile.

I got up following him.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you but this it what librarians are for" I moaned at Ed, "not me, I'm not your personal slave" every time we were in a library I was the one who had to follow him around with a handful of books.

Ed grabbed one and put it back on the shelf.

"Whats bothering you?" he asked ignoring my complaints.

"Nothing really-"

"Lexie spit it out" he might bite my head off for thinking about this or he'd understand.

"Grumman offered me Victor's spot at the top of his empire…"

Ed stopped and glanced at over his shoulder.

"I haven't accepted yet" I added quickly.

"Yet?" Ed asked, "that means you're thinking about it."

I shrugged.

"Someone has to do it, someone needs to be controlling the drug trade and Grumman said it would be easier for him to control it if someone who worked for him was controlling it that all those people would know" Grumman knew he'd never be able to get rid of Victor's empire but he could at least control the person who was controlling the empire and since I had three years to see how its run, I was kind of his best option at the moment.

"But thats not you" Ed said taking another book from my arms, "I get how tempting that offer would be with the amount of money you would get but you just got out of that world" he explained. "How long do you think it would take you until you turn into that man you just took down, from how I've seen you act when you're stuck doing that stuff I say give it a few years" I listened to him because he was right and he was the only person who helped me understand.

Ed turned to look at me, I knew that face, that was the face of someone who was about to give me an inspirational lecture and there was no doubt this one was going to be any different from all the others he had ever given me. It was the way he talked me out of things that weren't smart.

"Three years is a long time Lexie, you spent all that time trying to take down one man by accepting him back in your life and I can't imagine the things you had to do to gain his trust. Then you made everyone believe you were either a traitor or dead for an entire three years, you left everyone behind and thats something not a lot of people could do so why would you want to do it again?"

Ed put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.

"But in the end he broke me, I'm weak" I muttered, "I don't think I deserve another chance, I don't think I can change" I still felt like that monster Duke and Victor had created.

"Don't ever think you're weak because he managed to break you by the end, he searched every inch of your mind trying to find that weak spot and he found it but having a weakness doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. And not all humans are perfect, we all have our flaws but as long as we can recognise those flaws and don't use them as an excuse to hurt others. I know you want to take this job because you don't think you deserve to live in a world where you're seen as the good guy…"

Ed shook his head at me.

"But If you're willing to accept your past and you see what you did was wrong then why shouldn't you get another chance?" he asked, "I believe you deserve another chance and I've seen what you're like when you're in a good place. You're like no one I've ever met before but you also wouldn't be you without your past so don't forget it, embrace it. Look back at your mistakes so you don't repeat them, look back at your achievements so you can see that you're not all bad. Give it time, one step at time and you'll get to that person you want to be."

I clutched the books in my arms staring at the ground letting his words sink in.

I laughed slightly.

"All these years later and you're still lecturing me" I said smiling at the ground, "and every time you leave me questioning myself while also being speechless…"

I looked up at Ed.

"Even the slightest doubt I have of myself and you prove me wrong, is it a genius thing or what?" I asked.

That made him smile.

"We're strong because we've been weak, we're fearless because we've been afraid and we're wise because we've been foolish and because we understand these things we get called monsters but we're not. We're as human as they come, we have felt every single emotion and thats something only a human can achieve"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Honestly how old are you?" I asked him, "I could imagine an old man saying that but you, a twenty year old boy-"

"Man" he corrected me.

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever Ed" I sighed, "but I think your soul is too old for your body and it's so weird."

Ed held his hands up.

"Im trying to make you feel better and we're having an honest moment then you say something like that"

Ed snatched a book out of my arms and shoved it into the book shelf.

"Sometimes you leave me speechless with just a few words" Ed grumbled.

I smiled, what he had said was exactly what I needed to hear but that didn't mean I wasn't going to add my little bit in, he knew that as well.

"But did any of that make you see why you shouldn't take the offer?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah, you're the only one who can talk me out of doing something stupid" I admitted.

Ed turned back to me with a smile putting his hand on my head making me feel smaller than what I already felt standing next to him.

"Good because I need my partner in crime, do you know how hard it is to haggle without you?"

I pulled his hand off my head.

I twisted his wrist and he cringed in pain.

"Id say pretty hard since you're terrible at it, no wonder you've got no money even Riley managed to scam you out of your money" I laughed, "I guess I will have to be your partner in crime for a little while longer" I said letting go of his wrist.

Ed rubbed it frowning at me.

"And don't pat me like a kid" I warned shoving the books into his arms.

I turned one my heels headed in the opposite direction.

"Partners in crime, I like it" I chimed.

"Except for the crime bit, don't take the phrase too literal Lexie" Ed called out.

I waved him off.

"I look forward doing business with you" I called out, so it seems he did miss his bad side. Me.


	42. Chapter 36

_**Chapter thirty-six**_

 **Lexie's POV**

 _Three months later_

I sat in the train seat picking the dirt out from under my nails, I slouched some more in my seat trying to get comfy. They managed to make a train tracks from Amestris to Xing but not make some decent seats to sit in, this was nearly as bad as actually walking across the desert.

The seat next to us roared with cheering men as they played some sort of game between each other, one of them was sitting on the ground watching the dice roll across the floor intently.

"Hey Lexie" Ed muttered from beside me watching the game and nudging his elbow into mine.

"What?" I asked looking up.

The two of the men cheered again while the others sat there in silence. They were betting and the two men who started the game took their winnings.

"Thats the fourth game I've watched now that they've won" he said still staring at them as the losers sulked away and new players slammed their bets onto the ground next to the dice. The other two guys putting their winnings down accepting the challenge.

"Thats some luck" Ed said sounding unconvinced it was luck.

"You know thats not luck" I said watching, "they're scammers" not the first I had seen. I had come across so many scammers on Amestris streets and I had to admit I had done my fair share of scamming when I needed to, it wasn't a hard trick to pull.

"Thats what I thought but I can't figure out how they're doing it" I watched and when I saw the guy holding the dice flick his wrist I knew how they were winning.

"Easy, they're using loaded dice" I said.

Ed frowned.

"But the dice aren't showing the same numbers" the guy rolled his dice and moaned when they rolled the numbers he didn't want, the challengers cheered taking their winnings, "see" Ed said proving his point.

"On the first round maybe not" I said.

The guy who owned the dice managed to convince the challengers to have one more round offering more money as the prize.

"Watch the guy flick his wrist" I told Ed.

Sure enough. The guy flicked his wrist and the dice rolled the exact numbers he wanted like they had every time on the second game.

"Yeah I saw that" Ed muttered while the guy collected his winnings, "what did he do?" Ed asked.

"He swapped the dice, its all to do with slight of hand, its like stealing"

Ed glanced at me.

"Of course you'd know that" he mumbled.

I shrugged.

"You asked" I said then smiled, "how would you like to win some more money?" I asked Ed.

Ed looked at me.

"You want to play them?" Ed asked, I looked over at the men playing their next challengers.

"I love games"

Ed looked back at them.

"But they're scamming people, how are you supposed to win against a bunch of scammers?" he asked.

I shoved my hand into my pockets and pulled out a pair of dice.

"Its called scamming a scammer" I said playing with the dice in my hands.

Ed looked back at the game.

"Im supposed to tell you this is wrong but I do want to see the looks on their face when their loaded dice don't work" Ed smiled back at me.

"So thats a do it?" I asked.

"Do it"

I shoved the dice up my sleeve.

"With pleasure" I murmured walking over to the men.

They both looked up.

I pulled out some money from my pocket.

"My lucky number is four so ill go with four" I spoke up.

The men laughed.

"I don't think betting is for a lady" the one with the dice in his hand said.

I glanced down at him and smirked.

"If you guys are too scared to bet against a lady" I said scoping up the money, "then me and my friend" I said nodding at Ed, "will take our money else where."

They glanced at Ed thinking about it.

"All right, since the lady insisted"

I put the money back down sitting in the train seat and leaning down to watch the dice, the first few rounds would be easy. Done with real dice, not loaded dice to keep it fair until the challenger… Me, won and then they'd reel me back in for one more round and they would change the dice over.

"Four?" the man asked.

I smiled.

"Well i'll double that and go with eight" so we sat there watching the dice roll around the floor, each round we took turns throwing the dice and they'd land showing random numbers. Finally the guy threw the dice and one die landed on one and the other on three.

I threw my hands in the air.

"Ah ha!" I exclaimed scooping up my winning money, "and Lord Lexie wins!"

I glanced at Ed and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh damn" the man muttered, "you're one lucky lady" he said with a smile.

I shrugged standing up.

"What can I say" I laughed, "I'm always lucky."

The man smirked.

"Would you like to prove that again?" he asked challenging me, he pulled some more money out of his pocket and laid it on the ground.

I turned back around shrugging.

"Why not" I said putting my bet with his.

He grabbed the dice and flicked his wrist quickly before handing me the dice.

"I'll let the lady do the honours" he said placing them in my hand.

I smiled taking them.

I leaned over the chair towards Ed, flicking my wrist pulling the dice in my sleeve out and throwing the others up my sleeve.

I shoved the dice in Ed's face.

"How about you give them a kiss for good luck?" I asked him.

Ed scrunched his face up at me.

"Not chance Lex" he muttered at me.

I frowned.

"Aww come on Ed" I moaned, "be my lucky charm" I pouted.

Ed raised his eyebrows at me.

"Im not kissing them" he stated.

I sighed pulling away from him.

"No fun at all Ed" I said looking at the dice in my hand, "lets hope my kiss is lucky then" I said kissing them then throwing them to the ground.

The dice rolled around.

We all watched intently and the moment they both landed on a two the face on the man in front of me stared in disbelief.

"No" he whispered to himself.

"Well it was fun playing gentlemen" I said scooping up my winnings and shoving them in my pocket, "it seems my kisses are quite lucky" I chimed.

The man stared at the dice completely baffled.

"This can't be right" he muttered.

I stood up too quickly and the dice tumbled out of my sleeve.

Everyone froze staring at them.

"Damn" I whispered, "that wasn't apart of the plan…"

The man stared at the two sets of dice then up at me.

I backed away with a smile towards Ed.

"Lexie" Ed growled.

"Don't start" I growled back, "you let me do it."

The man and his partners stood up and so did Ed.

"I didn't think you were going to ruin it" Ed muttered.

I glanced up at him.

"Well neither did I" I muttered back.

We both stared at the men as they all surrounded us.

Four against two, we could take them if need be.

"You scammed us!" They snapped.

I held my hand up.

"I scammed you only because you were scamming everyone else" I pointed out, "and you guys can honestly try and teach us a lesson but you're the ones who are going to be hurting."

Ed and I stood our ground.

"Theres only one way to find out" they all growled, just before they jumped at us the ticket master walked into our carriage.

We all glanced at him.

"Whats going on here?" he asked staring at us.

We all smiled his way.

"Just playing a few games" I spoke up.

Everyone else nodded. The ticket master looked me up and down.

"Hey you're the Mustang girl who got away with all those murders after breaking out of Central Prison" he spoke up.

Everyone stared down at me while I gritted my teeth.

"Oh great" Ed muttered, "great way to set her off."

I smacked his arm still staring at the ticket master.

"You got a problem with me?" I asked him stepping forward.

Ed grabbed my shoulder stopping me from getting any closer.

"How'd you manage to get out of the charges for breaking out of prison?" the man asked.

I crossed my arms staring at him.

"Like id tell your simpleton brain" I snarled defensively, "maybe you should keep your big nose out of it because it's honestly none of your business" the tension in the carriage rose.

"You're a criminal" he said taking a step forward.

I clenched my fists at my side.

"Lexie" Ed warned me.

I shook him off turning away and defusing my anger.

"Yeah and you're a nobody so be on your way old man" I spat back.

He walked up to all of us.

"Lets see your ticket then" he said holding his hands out.

Everyone took their tickets out.

I looked up at Ed.

"You've got them" I said to him, he felt around in his pockets then frowned at me.

"Didn't I give them to you?" he asked.

I stared at him.

"You lost them" I growled.

Ed stood there for a another second checking his pockets. He had lost our tickets.

* * *

"I gave you the tickets!" Ed snapped at me.

My mouth dropped open.

I stood my ground pointing up to him.

"No you had them!" I snapped, "I remember you specifically telling me that you were going to hold on to them because id lose them!" So now Ed and I were in a predicament. We got halfway to Xing but ended up getting kicked off at the station in the middle of the desert because we kind of lost our train tickets, well Ed had and now we were watching the train leave without us. The next one wouldn't be here till tomorrow and there was no ticket agent in sight so we had no way of getting new train tickets.

"Well we wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't got snarky with the train inspector or screwed up trying to scam those guys!"

I threw my hands in the air, it wasn't my fault I got a bit defensive.

"Oh so now this is my fault!"

I turned around looking out into the endless desert, this was just the situation we'd get into. We both had been behaving so well and because of that Roy said he could get the military to fund our 'business trip' as he called it, which was really an adventure that we might learn some new things and give the information back to him. But right now we were stuck in the middle of no where not learning a damn thing.

"Well yeah it is"

I turned back around staring at Ed.

"You're the one who lost the tickets, if you had them we wouldn't have got kicked off!" I exclaimed throwing my arms around.

"I swear I gave them to you" Ed muttered shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No, you made sure you didn't give them to me because you said id lose them" I grumbled crossing my arms and sitting down on the ground, "and then you go ahead and lose them" I added with a sigh.

"Oh here they are!" Ed chimed, "they were in my front pocket."

I sat there staring up at him.

Ed smiled down at me but it was wiped off when he saw my face.

"I could kill you" I growled.

Ed held his hands up slowly.

"But its fine now, we can get on the next train-"

I shot to my feet and he staggered back.

"We wouldn't even be stuck here if you had those fucking things ten minutes ago!" I felt like ripping my hair out, "didn't you check your damn front pocket?!"

"Yes I did!" Ed snapped crossing his arms, "like three times" he muttered.

I clenched my fists in front of his face making him hold in his laugh.

"Getting frustrated with me isn't going to help anything" he said calmly.

I pointed at him.

"Where are we supposed to sleep?!" I held my hands out, we were at a tiny train station surround by endless desert.

Ed pointed to the ground.

"On the ground like normal people"

I threw my hands in the air.

"Oh short stack is getting sassy!" I exclaimed turning around trying to calm down.

"Excuse me?" Ed asked, "what did you just call me?"

I paused when I realised what I had said to him.

"You did not just call me that"

I smiled and glanced at him over my shoulder.

"Its been years since I've said that, I didn't realise it still bothered you" I said facing him.

Ed's fists were clenched at his side.

"Don't call me that" he said through gritted teeth pointing at me.

My grin grew.

"Or what?" I asked crossing my arms, "going to use some alchemy to kick my ass?"

Ed gritted his teeth.

"Im warning you"

I shrugged.

"The warning has been accounted for" I paused and smirked, "short stack."

Ed jumped at me and we both fell off the platform and into the sand.

Ed pinned me down.

"What did I just say?!" He snapped, now he was the frustrated one.

"Don't call you short stack or you'll do something to me" I laughed at him, "but the thing is what will you do?" I asked whacking his chest.

Ed grabbed my wrists pinning them above my head.

He glared down at me.

"If only I had alchemy" he growled, "id kick your ass" I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"But you can't so the question is, will you ever be able to kick me ass again?"

I enjoyed teasing him, watching him squirm. I couldn't outwit him and fighting always ended up with one of us with an injury and with us being stuck out here in the desert, we couldn't afford to get hurt so we had to think of other ways to get back at each other. And to be completely honest we hadn't fought in over three months with me trying to behave meant he could do all sorts of things to me and I couldn't get him back but now we weren't in Amestris, I could get him back however I wanted to.

"Of course I can"

I raised my eyebrows.

"maybe not right now but if I start training again I sure as hell can, you might be fast but you'll never have my strength"

I rolled my eyes.

"Strength isn't everything but of course you'd say that" I said shaking my head at him, "thats such a guy thing to say."

Ed made a face at me.

"Well I am a guy" he sneered at me.

I squirmed under him.

"Great now that we've clarified that, do you mind getting off me!" I snapped.

Ed let go of me and sat in the sand staring out at the desert plain in front of us.

"Now I've got sand all through my hair" I grumbled running my fingers through it.

Ed snorted.

"Such a girl thing to say" he mocked me under his breath.

I looked at him and he glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

"I will kick your ass" I warned him.

Ed smiled.

"Will not" he muttered.

I got to my feet and pushed my foot into his back making him fall head first into the sand.

"Don't underestimate me short stack" I muttered turning back towards the platform.

I went to climbing back onto the platform but Ed wrapped his arms around me lifting me off the ground.

My eyes widened.

"Ed put me down!" I shouted struggling in his grip, this was the only time I was powerless when I couldn't touch the ground or move my arms.

"Not until you stop calling me that!" he snapped.

I groaned squirming in his grip.

"You're not even small anymore so I don't get why you're having your small tantrums again" I muttered.

Ed squeezed me and I gasped.

"Ed you're going to break me!" but he wasn't going to let me go and I certainly wasn't going to give in to him.

I lifted my feet up placing them on the platform and pushed off it.

"Ah shit!" Ed snapped stumbling back, he didn't let go and we both fell to the ground.

"Let go!" I shouted.

"Never!" He shouted back, "not until you promise not to call me that!"

I slammed my heel into his shin and he gasped in pain releasing me.

I twirled around pinning him to the ground, we were going to be stuck out here for a little while and ill be damned if he wins this fight. Ed was over reacting because of the stupid nickname I used to call him, this heat was putting both of us on edge.

"Does it still hurt your feelings?" I asked smiling down at him, "just like it used when you were that tiny kid who only came up to my shoulder when I first met you" I sneered.

Ed stared up at me.

"At least I grew wheres you didn't" he looked me up and down like he was trying to prove his point but I only chuckled.

"Thats because I didn't need to" I said leaning up on my knees letting go of him, "I was already perfect" I crossed my arms smirking.

Ed leaned up on his elbows laughing.

"Perfect" he snorted to himself, "you come out with some of the most ridiculous things" he laughed to himself.

I opened my mouth to reply but Ed shoved me aside and I managed to get a mouthful of sand.

"Shade!" he exclaimed diving into the tiniest bit of shade being made by the platform.

I sat up choking on sand.

"You didn't have to shove me!" I snapped spitting out dusty sand, "it's not going anywhere!"

Ed just shrugged at me amused.

I crawled up beside him also sitting in the shade and out of the glaring hot sun, we both leaned up against the platform staring out at the mountains of sand.

"So what exactly do we do in this partnership?" I asked, I hadn't really asked. All I knew was that we'd be travelling out of Amestris and thats why I jumped at the opportunity without thinking about it, not that I haven't done that before. That was exactly what I did when I had first come across Ed and Al and it looked like I was doing it again.

"We're business partners now, we share our dreams!" He said holding his hands up.

I stared up at him with a frown

"our passions, our fights-"

"No way" I said interrupting him with a laugh, "I am not sharing your fights, you can fight your own fights and I may step in if I feel you're going to make a fool out of both of us" Ed could fight his own battles, he didn't need my help for it as much as I did love jumping in sometimes.

"Since when did you back down from a fight?" He asked looking down at me with one eyebrow raised.

I crossed my arms defensively.

"I'll back down when I know I'm going to lose" I said looking out at the sandy desert. The more the sun went down the cooler the air around us got, it was starting to feel pleasant now but we were going to be here all night until the morning for the next train.

"Liar" Ed snorted.

I couldn't help but smile. He knew me far too well.

"Okay true but I'm turning over a new stone-"

"For the hundredth time-"

I smacked his arm making him jump.

"Hey its true" he said while we glared at each other.

"We're business partners, if I go down hill be sure as hell that ill take you with me" I scoffed. If I was going to lose a fight then so was he, there was no way I'd lose my pride while he kept his.

"Oh thats comforting, I'm not sure I want to be business partners anymore" he said slouching down in the sand.

"What happened to sharing our dreams?" I asked dramatically like he had said it, "our passions?"

"Our fights?" He asked.

Ed had sunk right down until he elbows sunk in the sand and he had to look up at me.

"Of course, you know id have your back, when haven't I?" I asked glancing down at him.

His face hardened.

"Well the past three years… I could have used you those three years Lex" I hated it when he used that one on me, it made me feel guilty and he knew it. "Do you know how many times I got scammed?" He asked before we stared arguing again about my three year disappearance.

"I don't even wanna know" I sighed at him, "but your partner in crime is here now and id commit a murder for you" I said with a huge smirk.

Ed frowned up at me then smiled slightly.

"I think thats the nicest thing you've ever said to me in a crazy maniac kind of way" he laughed, "but no murders, thats bad" he pointed out.

I shrugged at him.

That was the best compliment he was going to get out of me for a while, especially since he had got us kicked off the train. He was never going to live that down.

"So…. Um does that mean I get to look after the money?" I asked slightly intrigued, I wouldn't mind being the money man. I've never really held a lot of money at once before.

"Most defiantly not, we cannot live off chocolate and I'm good with money, you're the one who makes sure we're not getting scammed" he explained, Okay so he had a point.

"You've got the charming looks and I've got the sharp tongue, together we could take down the country" I exclaimed staring up at the sky, well we would be able to as soon as we got out of this endless desert.

"Tone it down a bit" Ed laughed.

"Oh come on…"

He stared up at me.

"Did you see how well that worked out for Father"

I rolled my eyes at Ed.

"He was trying to turn everyone into stones not take over the entire country, that's totally different" he continued to stare at me still not impressed.

I sighed.

"Okay fine, our goal is to prove Roy that he was wrong when he said we'd achieve nothing but trouble together" it took a lot of convincing on my part to allow me to get on the deal Ed had got with the military. The deal was that they would pay him to travel and gather information and I wanted a part in being paid to travel, Ed was all for it but Roy not so much.

I annoyed him for those three months to let me go with Ed and finally he gave in, we had six months to bring back something of interest with no trouble making getting to his ears... So that meant don't get caught. Easy enough, I was seeing new places while being Ed's sidekick and he was getting paid to do something he enjoyed. It was a win win situation if we kept up our end of the deal.

"Now thats a goal id do my best to achieve at, partners?" Ed asked hold his hand up for me.

I took it squeezing his hand.

"Partners in crime!" I exclaimed with a smile.

Ed's smile faded.

"Business partners Lexie, no criminal activities" he said squeezing my hand back.

"Little bit criminal?" I asked softly.

His smile appeared again but he looked away.

"No but Most likely some trouble making but I'm not admitting to anything, the hero of Amestris does not need to do criminal acts to get what he wants, he uses his wits" he pulled his hand from mine and held his head up pridefully.

I laughed putting my hand on his head and ruffling his hair.

"Then what do you call that thing we did to those men on the train?" I asked.

Ed glared up at me pulling my hand off his head and squeezing my hand roughly as if to say don't do that.

"Hey that was all you and we wouldn't have got caught if you hadn't screwed up" so he was blaming it all on me... Okay it was my fault but at least I wasn't the one who had misplaced our tickets.

"Ah now I get it" I said pulling my hand from his tight grip, " if we don't get caught then we're allowed to do it."

Ed sat up to stare me down.

"Thats not what I said" he growled, the smirk on my face only grew.

"You applied it though" I sung.

He crossed his arms defensively.

"What happened to turning over a new stone?" He asked me.

I shrugged.

"Hey you need someone to keep you wild or you'll turn into a very boring person" I admitted.

Ed scoffed at me.

"And someones gotta keep you safe" I laughed, he was right.

"Okay its settled, ill keep you wild and you keep me safe, deal?" I asked.

Ed smiled.

"Deal" he said ruffling my hair back, this business partnership was going to be a very interesting adventure for us. But one thing I did know was that our times of jumping out of buildings and getting our ass kicked was not over yet.

* * *

 _ **Yes this is the end, unfortunately this is my last fanfiction I will be writing. I will continue writing but with original plots and my own characters including Lexie. If you're interested it will be on wattpad under LordLexie.**_

 _ **I'd like to shoutout to Faolan for her fan art of Lexie. Thank you for being an awesome fan of my crazy character.**_

 _ **And I know you all must be hating me, I never actually paired Lexie and Ed together. There is a reason why I never did it and that was because I never felt like I was a good enough writer to accomplish it, but… Yes there is a but. If you all are so insisting Lexward to happen, I might just have a bonus chapter to satisfy you. I can't promise it will be any good but if you really want to read it then let me know and I may be nice enough to post this bonus chapter.**_

 _ **Anyway I'm off, feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I promise I don't bit although Lexie might so leave some chocolate by the door and she might warm up to you… :D**_


	43. Bonus chapter

**_Okay I caved, heres the bonus chapter. You've got Faolan to thank, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have ever written this. She said I also must post it, so here it is. Im sorry if its terrible, love isn't particularly what I'm good at writing so I do apologise in advance. This is a farewell gift to all my followers, thanks for reading my stories and supporting them. The ship has officially sailed._**

* * *

 **Bonus Chapter**

It was dark now in the desert, it was quite cold with a chilly breeze floating through the air. Ed and I had found a spot on the tiny station out of the wind, we were trying to sleep… Well I was. Ed was already asleep, I knew this because his head was on my shoulder, it weighed a ton and he was snoring in my ear.

I shifted slightly but he just got heavier against me.

"Ed" I grumbled.

He snored a bit more.

"Ed" I growled this time.

"Yeah?" He asked in groggy voice.

"Im so glad you're having a good sleep" I said very sarcastically. "But-"

"Thanks" he muttered leaning even more on me like I was his personal pillow.

I sat there a bit dumbfounded for a second.

"Thanks?" I asked him. "You're not even listening to me" I muttered.

A shiver ran through me when I felt his hot breath on my neck.

"Ed I enjoy using you as a blanket, you're warm so in return you get to use me as a pillow. Thats fair but the snoring is stopping me from sleeping, especially when its right in my-"

His snoring cut me off.

I huffed.

I turned my head and blew into his ear.

Ed jumped awake staring at me.

"Morning" I chimed in a distastefully tone.

He let go of me and stuck his finger in my ear.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked in a rough voice, "I was sleeping" he mumbled through a yawn.

"Yes I know" I told him, "on me and snoring in my ear."

Ed frowned at me with a sleepy face.

"I wasn't sleeping on you and I wasn't snoring" he mumbled rubbing his eyes.

I let out a laugh.

"I'd beg to differ, you were very much sleeping on me and very much snoring"

"So does that mean I get to use you as a pillow?" He asked folding his arms on my head and leaning on me.

"No thats not what I said" I growled up at him trying to push him off me, it wasn't working out well for me. Ed was actually quite heavy.

"You seem grumpy, still angry we got kicked off the train?" He mumbled.

"Yes!" I spat, "if we hadn't got kicked off we'd be sleeping on the train. But no, instead we're sitting on a tiny platform tucked in a corner from the cold wind on the hard ground trying to sleep!"

"I have no idea how you're going to sleep with all that shouting" Ed mumbled, his arms slipped off my head and fell to my shoulders. Ed used my head as a pillow. I hate him when he was sleepy, this is when he got sassy and couldn't be bothered to argue with me. At least an argument would lead to one of us winning but now he was just making me sound like a drama queen.

I was not going to allow this.

"Don't get smart Ed" I grumbled.

"Lexie stop getting all frustrated and sleep, it'll make tomorrow come quicker"

"It would come quicker if we were on the train"

"Ahh" Ed groaned sitting up in frustration.

"Im just saying" I added.

"Yes we got kicked off the train because you started a fight and I misplaced the tickets, what else do you want me to say?" Ed countered in annoyance.

His annoyance made me smile.

"For you to admit you lost our tickets" I mused, satisfied leaning up against his arm using it as a pillow.

Ed huffed.

"You're annoying" he grumbled down to me. I snuggled against him.

"I know" I said closing my eyes still smiling, "but you chose to bring me along" I added.

"Yes I know, I think I might have made the wrong choice" he crossed his arms in a strop.

"Well if you go to sleep and don't snore tomorrow will come quicker…"

I felt Ed's arm tense.

"Ah shit" I muttered scrambling away from him.

"Come here!" Ed snapped crawling after me, "I'll make you sleep quicker!"

I did not want him to knock me out.

"No way!" I snapped back stumbling to my feet.

"Alexis I was asleep until you decided to be annoying!"

"I'm sorry that YOU were snoring in my ear!"

Ed stepped on the back of my shoe, I came to a stop and he ran straight into me. We both tumbled off the platform and into the sand.

Ed rolled off me and huffed.

"This is your fault" he grumbled.

I rolled onto my back wiping all the sand off my face.

"Yes fine Ed" I said rolling my eyes, "that was totally my fault…"

We both stayed there, lying next to each other looking up at the starry sky. It was silent except for the chilly wind that was blowing every once and a while. I dug my fingers into the cool sand.

He was right, it was kinda my fault. I was the one who got mouthy on the train, if I had kept my mouth shut I probably wouldn't have been recognised.

I sighed loudly.

"The guy on the train" I spoke up softly, "he recognised me still as that killer…"

I sat up clenching my fists.

"That's never going to change…" I muttered.

Ed sat up beside me.

"Thats because he doesn't know the truth"

"Thats the thing, no one is going to" the military weren't going to post the real story in the paper, they couldn't explain that I was let out, a known criminal to catch another criminal. That would look bad on them so everyone would just believe I got away with it probably because of my high ranking uncle, not because I worked my ass off to make up for what I had done.

"Who cares"

I looked at Ed.

"I'm over being feared, everyone will know who I was when I go back and I'll be looked down upon when I've tried my hardest to fix that" I whispered looking down, "I'm still a damn monster" I growled. Even with Duke dead and Victor in prison, what they had made me do was never going to go away. No one was going to accept me.

Ed grabbed my chin making me look at him.

"You're not a monster Lex" he said softly.

I stared up at him.

"I am, I've killed and enjoyed it Ed" I said honestly. I wasn't lying and he knew it.

"You were brainwashed to enjoy it" it was like he was grasping at anything to believe I wasn't a killer.

"Was I though?" I asked. I couldn't remember the brainwashing properly, they only haunted me in my dreams and even then they were distorted.

"Yes you were" Ed said convinced, "they tortured you. I don't know what you endured because of them and frankly is pisses me off that I couldn't do anything about it" he said letting go of me.

That made me smile.

"They hurt you so badly Alexis, you didn't deserve what they did and it wasn't fair…" I saw the sympathy in his face, not pity but sympathy.

I looked away from him.

"Others still see me as a monster" I whispered wrapping my arms around myself when the wind picked up slightly, the moon was the only light we had but it was light enough for us to see each other. "No one will accept me or even love me, I'm broken and I can't be fixed…"

"Shut up!" Ed snapped making me jump slightly, "I've accepted you and I bloody do love you!"

I looked up at him.

Those golden eyes…

I shook my head.

"Oh come on don't be stupid" I growled, "You've seen the stuff I've done. How could you love me?" I asked.

"Because you're unique, different and I know you hate yourself and you can keep doing that but I don't. I need you and I know you'd be useless without me" he said grabbing my arm making sure he had my full attention.

He had my full attention.

"Yes you're right, but I don't want you to love me, I'm nothing but bad luck and-"

Ed cupped my face and kissed me. I had never realised how much I wanted him to but I did.

Ed pulled back.

"Shut up" he growled.

I felt his breath against my face.

"If I want to love you, I will and theres nothing you can do about it Alexis" he breathed heavily against me.

I stared up at him in anger.

"Oh you bastard" I growled trying not to smile. I couldn't believe he had just done that, "you just kissed me to shut me up!"

He hadn't let go of my face.

Ed smiled slightly impressed with himself.

"Ha yeah, kinda" he laughed slightly.

"Well if you're going to do that then you might as well do it right" I said grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt and pulling him towards me. Our lips met again and my arms slid around his neck getting my fingers tangled in his hair.

Ed leaned over me pushing me onto my back, I sunk into the sand as his chest pressed against mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist squeezing my thighs against his hips, Ed leaned down into me. One of his hands traveled around to the back of my neck pushing me harder against him, making the kiss more intense and passionate. While the other gripped my hip under my shirt.

His fingers felt rough against my skin.

I buried my fingers deeper into his hair. Enjoying his presence being so close that I could feel his fast heart beat against my chest.

My teeth grazed his bottom lip when he pulled back slightly.

Ed paused, staring at me.

Both breathing heavily against each other.

"You can't tell Mustang about this-"

I scoffed at him.

"Like I'd tell him shit now shut up and kiss me"

Ed bent down and kissed me again.


	44. Authors note

Hey guys, long time no see.

Ive been talking to a few friends and they're eager for a new fma fanfic with Lexie. I've put up a poll for you guys to decide on my profile, if you're interested let me know and I might just write something new.


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